Night City
by obsidianLight16
Summary: When the sun goes down, the moon rises and night prowlers roam the streets. The Akatsuki police force has their hands full when the criminal actions of Orochimaru pull them deeper into the hidden secrets of Rain City. And what's this about a traitor?
1. Meet Iwa Deidara

**A/N: Hey guys! I thought I'd try something different from crack fics and humor and give a go at something with more of a serious theme. **

**I'd really appreciate hearing what you think about it. **

**Warning: Language, violence, gore...**

**Disclaimer: The plot is mine, but the characters and references are not. **

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><p>Twenty-one year old Uchiha Itachi sat in the driver's seat of his red and black Bugatti Veyron. His fingers tapped against the wheel as he looked out his tinted window, dark sunglasses over his eyes and a slight frown on his face. He didn't know why Pein bothered to buy them all the expensive cars. The only reason they would use them would be for chasing down those on their Wanted list with equally fast cars, and there weren't many out there who could afford the almost 3 million dollar vehicles. Personally, Itachi thought it was because his leader liked to flaunt his multi-billion richness to the world, but he wasn't about to tell that to his face.<p>

Itachi had been sent on a small assignment to find and detain a college freshman who had been the cause of several fire outbreaks and explosions in Rain City. Although it _did _rain as if a constant typhoon was stuck in the city, today seemed to be an exception. Partly cloudy with sunshine and a high of 74 degrees. _Looks like Kisame was right_," Itachi dryly thought.

All of them in the force had jobs outside of their underground police occupation, and he was no different. He worked part-time in the main supermarket as a cashier. It wasn't glamorous, but he preferred to keep on the down low unlike the rest of his family and younger brother who was third wealthiest in the city- the Hyuuga Corporation second in comparison to Akatsuki Deals. A front that sold old antiques to hide the secret base underneath it.

Itachi checked the watch on his wrist before looking back out the window. He was currently parked in a partially empty parking lot behind a furniture store that had gone out of business long ago. Aside from his car not-so-stealthily hidden in the center of the lot, there were several motorcycles and two cars. They were mostly gathered around a large wooden ramp that had been set up, and a tiny crowd of teens and a few adults were standing nearby. Their eyes were watching the same thing Itachi was.

A crimson red and black Ninja doing flips and tricks up and alongside the ramp, the rider dressed in black boots, leather pants, and a leather jacket. Fingerless gloves and a studded belt were accompaniments to the fashionable outfit, a silver and black helmet on the head. There were cheers among the crowd as other riders joined in, revving around the lot and over the ramp. One came close enough to Itachi's car to rattle the door as it zoomed by before meeting up with the others where they performed a collective trick before steering to the center of the crowd and putting their show to an end.

Muffled clapping by his window, Itachi turned to the passenger seat beside him to grab a few needed items. A shoulder bag with important documents and photos and his utility belt which held a pager, gun, spray, and several sedatives in case things got wild. Itachi slung the shoulder bag around him as he listened to the crowd disappearing one by one and the main rider's friends riding off on their bikes. He stared down at his utility belt, decided he didn't need it, and opened his car door.

The lone rider was leaning against his bike, visor up and typing away on his cellphone. He didn't seem to notice that someone was approaching until they stopped a few feet away. He looked up and narrowed his eyes, sliding his phone shut and sliding into a back pocket. "Can I help you?"

Itachi inwardly smirked and crossed his arms. "I was just watching you. It's my first time being back here."

"How'd you know about this place hmm?" The rider pushed off his bike, a hand placed on its seat almost warily.

Itachi eyed the hand and then looked back to the teen he knew to be under the helmet. "I heard from a friend. Besides, you're not exactly the quietest."

"Hmph." The rider remained tense.

Itachi couldn't help but sigh. "I go to your University you know. I'm a junior, in a few of your classes. And there were some people talking around about a skilled daredevil and stunt artist. I got curious."

At this, the teen seemed to perk up considerably.

_There we go. Let down your guard some more… _"I have a friend who's also an artist," Itachi airily commented. "Though his art is a little…strange."

"Do you now?" The rider took a step closer and removed his hand from his bike.

_Bingo_. Itachi held out a hand, brushing a few stray strands out his face. "My name is Uchiha Itachi. Nice to meet you."

The teen took his helmet off, revealing a shockingly blue eye and golden locks cascading over his shoulders and over his left cheek. He smirked and accepted the hand. "Hey. Nice to meet you- I'm Iwa Deidara yeah."

Itachi lifted his brow, looking him up and down. He seemed more friendly than the reports said. But people were always different when meeting them in person. "Well now that we've exchanged pleasantries, I'm here to give you a ride."

"Me?" The blonde tilted his head to the side, bringing his hand back down to his side. "But I already have a ride. It's my baby back there un," he jerked a thumb behind him where his Ninja stood.

Itachi wryly smiled, beginning to ruffle through his shoulder bag. "Oh I know you have a ride. I'm just here to give you a different one." He held out a stack of papers. "And I believe you know why."

Deidara accepted the papers offered with a slight frown, beginning to leaf through them. He could feel the other man watching him carefully. _What's with this guy? Just what is he after? _Suddenly he caught sight of one of the printed images and he began paying closer attention to what was actually on the papers. His eye seemed to widen with each new page he flipped to. His throat closed up and he snapped his head up to the amused raven. "T-This is-"

"That's right." Itachi's smirk grew wider, snapping a cuff around the teen's wrist before twisting him around and pulling his arm behind his back. He moved his mouth close to the shaking blonde's ear. "Hello. Nice to meet you- I'm Uchiha Itachi. And you're under arrest."

Deidara struggled, glaring fiercely over his shoulder. "Fuck!"

"Fuck is right," Itachi said, cuffing the teen's other wrist. "I'm taking you in."

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><p><strong>AN: And that's that... Feedback would be really appreciated :)**

**Just so I know whether to continue or not. **


	2. Akatsuki Deals

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far~ I too was waiting for someone to write a story like this, waited too long and decided to write one myself.**

**After this chap- updates will happen once every week (Sunday) but I'll let you know in an A/N if it changes :)**

**OK, enough chat. Here's the story :D**

**Warning: Language, violence, gore...**

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><p>Itachi drove down the road at an almost impossible speed, casually grabbing his cellphone from the dashboard and flipping it open to his ear as it rang. "Uchiha Itachi."<p>

"_Dude. I know who the fuck you are."_

Itachi rolled his eyes, holding the phone with his ear to put both hands back on the wheel. The last thing he needed was to crash. "What do you want, Hidan?"

"_Kisame's nagging me about how you were supposed to return with the convict half an hour ago and won't shut the fuck up. So what the hell are you doing and why the _fuck _are you taking so long?"_

Itachi sighed. "I'm on my way back now. He put up quite a fight, even handcuffed." He glanced sideways at the blonde slumped unconscious in the passenger seat. "Almost as good as me, definitely better than you."

"_Shut up bitch!"_

"Is that all you wanted?"

"_No. Pick up some goddamn food before Konan tries to cook again."_

"Right. Got it."

"_See ya the fuck when you get back to headquarters."_

"Yeah." Itachi shut his phone and practically threw it back on the dashboard. He hated being on food duty, mostly because he's be the one to suffer if no one liked the choice of food he chose. _Picky bastards. _Itachi felt a migraine coming on and shifted his car down to a lower gear, eyeing the signs on the road for any nearby restaurant that served a lot, and a lot quickly. Idly he wondered if he should get something for the teen beside him. After all, it wasn't everyday Pein asked them to hold one of their convicts captive unless he wanted something from them. And that something was usually membership into their force.

Itachi mulled over this a little bit longer, glancing at the blonde again. He'd never admit it aloud, but the kick to his abdomen did a lot more damage than he expected. In fact, he believed there was a fairly ugly looking bruise forming already. _A wild fighter who'd get killed with one wrong move… too many openings and hardly any defense. But according to his files, he attacks from a distance, so of course he wouldn't focus on hand-to-hand combat. _Itachi stored this piece of information in his head to inform his leader of the others of his analysis later.

~X~

The bell rang on the glass doors of Akatsuki Deals, a mother and her small daughter walking in hand-in-hand. The daughter gasped in delight at all the neat-looking trinkets while the mother looked around for an employee.

"Welcome. Can I help you?"

The mother took a step back in surprise as a smiling orange-haired man with multiple piercings greeted her, donned in black slacks and a white polo, a red work apron overtop. His nametag read: Pein.

The daughter tugged, escaping her mother's hold and running off to admire the stained glass works.

The mother helplessly smiled after her child and then looked back to the employee who addressed her. "Hello. I was wondering if you had an old record player by any chance. I heard you have many rare trinkets here and thought it'd be the perfect gift for my husband's birthday."

Pein gave a small nod of his head. "Of course. If you'll follow me…"

The woman smiled as he waved her to a back section of the store.

Hidan snickered from where he was sorting a stack of cassettes and old books. "Pein sure is a ladies' man," he said to the older man next to him.

"Don't let Konan hear you say that," the man replied with a roll of his abnormal green eyes.

"She's not even here Kakuzu," Hidan said with a whiny frown. "Lighten the fuck up."

Both wore the same attire as their leader and manager in the store, although Hidan wore a beaded necklace with the symbol of his religion on and Kakuzu had a black bandana on top his messy hair. His tattoos of stitches from his mouth to cheeks normally either scared or intrigued those who looked at it. The daughter of the shopping mother seemed to think the latter as she wandered over, clutching an expensive-looking vase and pointy at Kakuzu with a stubby hand.

"I like your face," she said with a shy smile.

Kakuzu raised a brow. "Thanks?"

Hidan snorted as she ran off to show her mother the vase. "Well there's a fuckin' first," he said.

"Hidan…"

"What?"

Kakuzu kicked him in the groin. "Shut up," was all he said before going back to sorting his own stack of books.

"You…fucker…" Hidan wheezed from his position on the ground.

"What are you doing on the ground?" a new voice inquired from behind him.

Hidan looked up as Kakuzu turned his head around.

"Konan!" Hidan exclaimed, trying and failing to jump to his feet.

Kakuzu smirked at the silver-haired man's misfortune and then addressed the curious blue-haired woman. "He had a slight accident. Nothing he can't handle."

"Fuck you," Hidan hissed, opting to get up at a slower pace.

Konan lifted a brow, her pierced lip tilting in an amused smile. Just like everyone else who worked at Akatsuki Deals, she wore the custom outfit, except with black tights and a black skirt instead of slacks. "I'm on my way to get Sasori from the library. I would ask if you wanted to come along, but you're obviously busy," she said.

Kakuzu gazed at her in question. "Sasori? Doesn't he have a car?"

"He drove it off a cliff this morning," Konan casually said.

"Geez," Hidan muttered. "Why would Pein even give a fast car like that to Sasori when he _knows _the fucker can't drive to save his ass?"

"Because I want everyone here to be equals," a dry answer came from in front of the trio.

Hidan's eyes nearly bugged from his head. "P-Pein! When the hell did you get here?"

"Ever since the mother and her child left three minutes ago," Pein replied. He turned to Konan. "Hurry and get Sasori. Itachi's on his way back with dinner."

Konan raised both eyebrows.

Pein sighed. "And the convict. Everyone must be present."

"Oh I wasn't waiting for that," Konan airily said. "I'm just waiting for you to say 'please'."

"_Konan_," Pein stressed.

"Fine, fine," Konan started to take off her apron. "I'll be back in less than five minutes," she said, throwing her apron onto Hidan's head.

"The fuck!" Hidan exclaimed, trying to rip the cloth off from his face.

Konan smirked and jabbed her hand into the silver-haired man's forehead as she sauntered by. "Later dweeb. Pein, Kakuzu."

"Bitch! Just you wait-"

He was cut off by another kick to the groin. This time by his leader.

Kakuzu shrugged. "You beat me to it Pein."

"Fuckin'…assholes…" Hidan whined from the floor.

"Oh yeah," Kakuzu glanced at his leader. "Do you have any idea where Kisame is?"

Pein heaved his shoulders, beginning to walk to the front desk to clean things up before closing the shop. "Un-plunging the toilet he clogged."

Kakuzu watched him go with a slight sweatdrop. _Pein…don't say such things so casually, _he thought.

~X~

Pein stepped aside as Konan and Sasori entered the shop doors before flipping the 'Open' sign to one that said 'Closed'. "That was more than five minutes," he told Konan.

Konan shooed him with her hand. "So sue me. There were a lot of red lights."

"All of which you _ran_," Sasori muttered as he headed for a stairwell in the corner of the shop that led underground. He worked as an assistant library at the City library and so wore their work clothes. Jeans and a purple t-shirt with a rainbow and smiley face at one end. It was either that or a hideous yellow uniform which he was most definitely _not _putting on his body. And with his short height, everyone thought he was just another high school student looking for some money. It was a good enough cover-up to his real job, so that's just about all he really cared for.

"At least I can drive," Konan retorted a few minutes later as she joined the redhead on his way downstairs.

"Like a psycho."

"Coming from the man who drove his car off a cliff for the fourth time this week."

"Don't judge me," Sasori uttered as they wandered down the dimly lit hallways of their underground base. They passed several closed doors which marked their bedrooms, an open room filled with monitors and beeping machinery, five offices marked with nametags belonging to each partner squad, a medium-sized kitchen, and an obnoxiously large living room complete with a couch and T.V. The two members of the Akatsuki force continued past the living room to another set of stairs which took them further underground where they passed a training sector, shooting range, and both padded and unpadded cells which they placed their caught convicts in until they gave them to higher authorities or disposed of them.

"This place seems bigger and bigger every time I walk through it," Konan mused, glancing around as they headed for yet _another _staircase. One that was longer than the rest and went to the last level down below in a spiral.

"I know what you mean," Sasori said. "I think that Pein adds in other sections without us knowing and then claims its been there all along when we finally notice."

After several minutes of idle conversation between the two of them, they made it to the final level of their base which consisted of a labrinyth of corridors, offices, and the occasional lab for forensic tests and studies. When they weaved their way through the halls and came to another row of cells and rooms meant for their more dangerous subjects, there was a metal door on the opposite side marked 'Employees Only'. Which really made no sense since those in the Akatsuki force were the _only _ones who ever came down this far in the base.

Sasori rolled his eyes at the sign and kicked the door open with less grace than Hidan. And that tended to say a lot. "We need to get rid of that sign," he said as those inside the room looked up at him.

"Shorty!" Hidan joyfully cried, pushing back from the circular metal table the other members were seated at as he ran to greet the redhead.

Sasori lifted a leg without looking, going for his usual chair as Hidan crumpled to the ground with a hand to his crotch.

"Damn bastards…" Hidan whimpered. "I'm definitely not going to be able to have kids now."

"As if anyone would want to have your child," Kakuzu muttered, shuffling the deck of cards in his hands. "Sasori- you want in?"

"Depends on what you're playing," Sasori said.

Kakuzu split the deck in half before rapidly shuffling. "Old Maid."

Sasori raised a brow.

Kakuzu defensively raised his hands, still in the middle of shuffling. "Hey it was Kisame's turn to pick."

Sasori turned his dark eyes to the broad man across from him, leaning on the table with his elbows propped on top. "Really Kisame?"

"It's a classic!" Kisame cried out. His dark blue hair was cut short in a full head mohak, gill-shaped tattoos on his cheeks and tanned skin darkened from his constant weatherman duty in different parts of the city and its sunnier outskirts. He wore a red tie haphazardly around his neck, white business shirt and dark pants. He hadn't bothered to change out of his work clothes.

"Whatever." Sasori leaned back. "I'll play until Itachi gets here with our convict and food."

"You know about that?" Hidan asked, taking a seat beside him while Konan sat in between Kisame and Kakuzu.

"Konan filled me in," Sasori said, taking the handful of cards Kakuzu dealt out. Wow. His hand sucked.

"Three pairs!" Kisame gleefully exclaimed, setting them down.

"I don't get why you get so excited about this," Konan murmured as she placed down two pairs of her own.

"Because it's fun," Kisame said, sniggering at Hidan who had no pairs at all.

"Whatever you say," Konan sighed.

Sasori eyed Kakuzu next to him. "Why do you only have one card left?"

"Because I had six pairs," Kakuzu told him matter-of-factly.

"Probably because you fuckin' cheated," Hidan muttered.

"Oh shut up Mr. One-Pair," Kakuzu sneered. "And I'm not just talking about your cards."

Sasori and the others smirked at Hidan who flushed a deep red in anger before demanding that Konan let him pick from her hand first.


	3. Reasoning and Choices

**A/N: Hola :) **

**You guys are great~ I've decided to post every three days instead of a week. That keeps you waiting for far too long than you deserve. **

**I want to get as far as possible in this story before band camp starts ^_^u, I'll be pretty busy then...**

**Warning: Language, violence, gore...**

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><p>Pein patiently leaned against the front guest on the main level of the shop, looking out the door for any sign of Itachi and their convict. "He probably went down a busy road…"<p>

"Probably," a voice agreed.

Pein inwardly jumped, coolly glancing sideways at the pale teen with golden eyes and cropped green hair. "Zetsu. I didn't hear you."

"You looked lost in thought," Zetsu gave a small shrug. He wore a shirt that split white and black down the middle, dark jeans and an earring in his left ear. "I just got back from scouting out that old factory we thought Orochimaru was making into his base."

"Oh? Anything of interest?" Pein shifted to stare at him.

"A nice stack of suspicious crates and some pretty heavily bolted metal case," Zetsu answered.

Pein thoughtfully looked down, thinking. "I see… Was there anyone in there?"

Zetsu cocked his head to the side. "A few unimportant workers and a college sophmore named 'Kabuto'," he said. "The kid was checking things off on a clipboard and had a hefty envelope filled with cash in his coat pocket." **"A stupid-ass place to put it if you ask me." **"But I didn't. Stay inside will you?" Zetsu scolded himself as his other personality came out momentarily.

Pein ignored it, the personality change and self-conversations a normal occurrence. "Thank you for your work Zetsu. I know I can trust you on anything," he said.

"But of course," Zetsu inclined his head slightly.

At that moment, the front door jingled open, and a haggard looking raven stumbled in, holding a nice amount of plastic bags smelling of grease and deliciousness. Zetsu moved to help, earning a grunt of thanks before Itachi turned on his heel to get the blonde teen out of his car who had woken to the smell of food.

Zetsu glanced to Pein. "I'll take these downstairs. I assume you'll wait here for Itachi and our captured target."

"You assume correctly," Pein smirked, waving a hand. "See you in a few minutes."

Itachi walked in a moment later with a scowling blonde whose hands were locked behind his back and his elbow intertwined with one of Itachi's. "I brought Deidara," he unnecessarily said.

Pein lifted a brow. "I can see that."

Itachi smirked and held the squirming blonde in before his leader. "I know. What do you plan on doing with him?"

Deidara glared at the orange-haired man who seemed to be the head honcho of this obviously underground police force. He had been to a jail before, and it was nothing like this one. "What do you want with me yeah?"

Pein smiled at the burning fire in the teen's eye. "If you agree to follow me without struggle then I'll gladly fill you in."

Saying Deidara gave him a suspicious look would be an major understatement.

Pein chuckled, motioning for Itachi to released the blonde. "Deidara," he said as Itachi un-clicked the handcuffs and let the teen rub his sore wrists. "As you have no doubt realized, this is not an ordinary police station."

Deidara scoffed under his breath and looked around at all the antiques. "Tell me about it…"

"We are an underground police force that specializes in catching and putting down black market organizations and dealings in this city," Pein said as Deidara wandered from here-to-there, checking out anything that looked interesting in the shop. "We're on a completely different branch of protection than the normal officers you'd see walking the streets in the middle of the day and have a higher ranking than them. The authorities value our services more, I guess you could say. Although the other forces out there are just as important in keeping the peace in such a shady place such as Rain City."

Deidara picked up the glass sculpture of a blue dove, holding it up to one of the decorated lamps and studying the way the light created pixel rainbows on its surface. "I know Rain City has one of the highest rates of secret criminal activity un. And I also know that most people in this place have no idea what even happens on the streets at night." He looked at Pein and Itachi with his bright blue eye, holding the dove beside it as he said, "I know this because I'm out every night adding to the mayhem that _is _Rain City at night. The city that rains blood hmm. So I think the question I have for you," he placed the dove back where he got it from, looking at a collection of snow globes, "is why did you bring me here? Why not let the normal forces lock me up for a few years un?"

Itachi and Pein exchanged a glance and miniscule smile.

"Smart one, aren't you?" Itachi answered.

Deidara frowned and pointed to the raven, a snow globe in his other hand. "You piss me off Uchiha Itachi. I have a nice welt on the back of my head because of you un."

Itachi gave a helpless shrug. "I had no choice. It was like restraining a flailing chicken."

"I am _not _a chicken," Deidara said in an offended tone.

Itachi shook his head, amused. "No, you are most definitely not," he said.

Pein cleared his throat to get the attention back on him for the moment. "If the regular forces were to 'lock you up' as you say, you'd be out in no time creating fires as if you had never served time. And we can't have that."

"So you want to keep me detained here yeah?" Deidara didn't look up, enamored with shaking the snow globe in his possession and watching the fake flakes swirl around a mini metropolis version that was Rain City. "If you lock me up, I'll just blow my way out."

"Our walls are specially made to prevent that from happening," Itachi said.

Deidara raised a brow in his direction, putting the globe down. "Well that's new un," he said.

"Even if you tried to escape," Pein nonchalantly said, "our base's defenses are practically impregnable."

"Really un?"

"Let's just say…that we've had our trial and error runs," Pein murmured. "But no. I don't wish to keep you cooped up in a cell for the rest of your life. Goodness knows what would happen if we did that."

Deidara faced the two with the stature of a defiant lion. "Then what do you want with me?"

Pein smirked, haughtily lifting his chin. "You have street smarts and know what goes on at night in this city. I also know you have connections with some of the men and woman we're after. That's pretty valuable information right there. But not only that, you have a mechanical genius in you and a fighting style that would give anyone a bit of trouble from what I hear. You're book smart and dangerous with weapons. You've got a nice array of abilities that would be of much use to us."

Deidara remained unmoving.

Pein beckoned to him with a hand. "Forget your life of a stunt artist who no one takes significant notice of and join us. You'll have enough money to have an easy life and pay off whatever college tuition you didn't pay for with your scholarships. There are rooms in our base here and the other necessities people find they need to live with. We'll let you see a whole other side of Rain City, complete with the thrill of danger, blood, and the rest that comes with this city's kind of crime-fighting." He stared into the blonde's eyes, even the one that was hidden beneath his hair. "What do you say about that? Iwa Deidara?"

The teen placed his hands in the back of his leather pants and raised his eyes to the ceiling, causing Itachi to go on alert and place a hand at his waist where he kept a hidden blade. Pein motioned for him to be at ease as Deidara glanced back down at them and asked, "What happens if I refuse your offer?"

Pein smirked. "Then you can spend the rest of your days floating at the bottom of the Ame river," he said.

"Gee, what a choice," Deidara sarcastically muttered.

"Well you can't expect for us to just let you free after telling you about our special force," Pein informed him. "Normally someone like you would be sent to the higher authorities."

"Ha?" The blonde gazed at him. "And what would happen then?"

Pein shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I only know the man who runs the entire police force, but he wouldn't reveal his plans to me."

"So basically," Deidara took his hands out his pockets, along with his phone, sliding it open and beginning to text, "you're saying that this head boss guy let's you guys fight crime and do all his dirty work while he sits and watches from above, so to speak un?"

Pein bobbed his head. "Sounds about right. Not that I'm complaining. Nothing's happened to us yet."

Deidara nodded back. "True enough." He shut his phone and put it back away, rolling his eye at the look Itachi was giving him. "I was just texting a buddy about tonight's homework. Is that okay with you, Uchiha Itachi?"

"I wouldn't know that," Itachi tensely replied.

Deidara sighed in exasperation. "Check my phone if you want hmm. Actually- don't. I don't want you touching my precious baby un. And I have a life you know. One that I go about like a _normal _school student during the day."

"I thought your bike was your baby," Itachi skeptically said.

Deidara's mouth opened and shut several times before he realized he had left his precious Ninja in the middle of the parking lot, unlocked and ready for stealing.

Itachi's lip curled up. "I wouldn't worry if I were you. I had the decency to send a _buddy _to pick it up. It's in our garage," he said.

"If you're lying," Deidara said with a glare, "I won't hesitate to bash your skull in-"

"Everyone here has a so-called _normal _life as you say Deidara," Pein cut in. "We all go about our daily lives as fronts until night falls and we receive news of trouble. Then we step in. Like I said before, our job is to prevent criminals of the night world from disrupting the peace of regular civilians."

Deidara gave him an intense look. "And if dawn is about to break?"

Pein stared back just as hard. "Then we do whatever it takes."

"…I see…" Deidara absently looked away, gazing at the untouched and obsolete items stacked all around the shop. A feeling of nostalgia rose up briefly in the back of his mind, telling him that he should be remembering something. But he couldn't place the feeling, no matter how hard he tried to think about it. _I feel so sick, _he thought to himself. _But I know I need to be here, to figure out this feeling. To feel this way everyday; as if I'm missing a part of my past that needs to be found. _His gaze idly wandered back to Pein and Itachi who were giving him expectant looks. _What is it…about this place? How did I even get involved in the night city? Oh yeah… Little sister… _His eyes clouded over.

Itachi gently cleared his throat to break the thick silence that had settled over them. "Is everything alright?"

Deidara blankly stared ahead.

Pein eyed the teen. "Deidara…?"

"I'll do it," Deidara said so suddenly that it caught them both off guard.

"What?" Pein questioned, wondering if his ears deceived him.

"I said I'll do it," the teen repeated. His gaze had become focused once more. "I'll join your special force and help you catch your bad guys yeah."

Pein scratched the back of his neck. "Easier than I expected, getting you to cooperate that is."

"But!" Deidara held up a finger, lips pursed. "I want full possession of my Ninja. And I don't want you guys following me everywhere I go un. A-And I hope everything here is as free as you say it is or else I'm out," he said with a red face.

"No need to be embarrassed," Pein smiled. "I happen to know of your previous living arrangements and think ours is _much _better."

Deidara scowled. "Have you been stalking me or what?"

"Don't get angry," Pein chuckled. He waved for the blonde to stand before him and said as he walked over, "I needed to collect data on you to see if you were a worthy asset to our force."

"So am I worthy?" Deidara skeptically asked.

Pein reached into the front of his work apron he had never took off, pulling out a silver ring with a stone set in the middle. "You are…most definitely worthy, Iwa Deidara." He placed the piece of jewelry into the baffled blonde's hands and his smile grew. "You already have your nails painted. How lovely. Now you won't have to do it until it starts chipping."

"Um…" Deidara looked at the ring at then to the hands belonging to the two in front of him, noticing that their nails were painted respectively. "What's with-?"

"To show our unity as a group," Itachi answered. "There is strength in numbers after all."

"And you felt the need to interrupt me, why?" Deidara snapped, sliding the ring on.

Itachi rolled his eyes.

Pein clapped them both on the shoulder. "Come now, you're both comrades in this squad now. We don't need another pair like Hidan and Kakuzu."

"Well that's true," Itachi muttered.

Deidara's face showed confusion. "Hidan and Kakuzu un?"

"Two of our other members," Pein said, steering them towards the back stairwell. "All of our members should be downstairs, hopefully not tearing apart the food you brought here for us Itachi. Deidara, I'll get you introduced and inducted into the police force and then you're free to do whatever you want for the rest of the night." _If you wake up._

"In…ducted?" Deidara didn't know why, but he got sharp chills running up his spine.

"Just wear something loose," Itachi mumbled, looking like he was reliving something traumatizing at the mention of the word.

_If it's got _this _guy acting like this, then I better just do as he says, Deidara thought with a shudder. _"Hey I just remembered. Tomorrow morning is Thursday. Do I just go to school like normal and then come straight back here hmm? Or do I get to lounge around the city with my friends afterwards?"

"Good question," Pein said as they began walking down the stairs. He lead the way in front, with Deidara behind him, and Itachi after him. "Go to school as you usually would, hang out with your buddies as you usually would too. Remember, we're an underground force. No one can know about us except for those who take part in the chaos of the night city. If a problem arises, we have several means of which to contact you with."

"Hmm…" Deidara mumbled something intelligible to show that he understood, choosing to stare at the large amount of rooms and high-tech gear as they passed by. "I'm guessing you're rich un?"

Pein smirked even though no one could see. "Only the richest in the city."

"Way to be modest," Deidara said back as they made a descent further under the ground. He didn't know what he was getting into, agreeing so easily to be a part of this special force. But he knew two things for sure.

One: He'd have a blast getting into blood-pumping fights with some of the strongest criminals of the night city.

And two: He didn't really fancy lying at the bottom of a river for the rest of his life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Expect the next chapter soon :)**


	4. Of the Highest Profession

**A/N: For once I have nothing to say... Except that those reading this are fantastic~**

**Warning: Language, violence, gore, anything else you find need ones.**

**^v^**

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><p>"I assure you that our members are of the highest profession," Pein said as they approached the metal door on the lowest underground level of their base. He grasped the doorknob. "They're all equally skilled in intellect and strength, so don't be fooled by appearances," he swung the door open just in time for him and the two behind him to see Hidan let out a roar of anger and flip the circular table they had been sitting at towards Kakuzu in a furious rage.<p>

Kakuzu calmly dodged as a flurry of cards fluttered around the group of six in the room. "It's just a game Hidan," he said.

"Seriously." Sasori sat back and stared at the silver-haired man. "You almost took my out eye."

Hidan flipped him off with a sneer. "Bite me bitch."

Pein looked over his shoulder with a sheepish chuckle. "They're just messing around," he said to a _slightly _horrified blonde. He coughed before straightening his back and striding into the room with the imposing air of a leader. Immediately all eyes went to him. "Glad to see you've all entertained yourselves in my absence. As your leader-"

"Hey fucker!" Hidan cheerfully greeted, setting the table back up.

"It took quite a while for you to get down here," Konan commented, helping Kakuzu and Kisame pick up the scattered cards.

"He probably got lost," Sasori uninterestedly said, getting out of his chair in the otherwise barren room. He made a beeline for the bags of food Zetsu brought down that had been set on the countertop while they waited for their leader. "Now that Pein's here, we can finally eat."

"I know right?" Hidan shouted, handing a card to Kakuzu who was stashing the deck in his pocket. "I'm fucking _starving_!"

"When are you not?" Kisame asked, plopping down in his chair once more. "Sasori hurry and bring the food over!"

"Shut up," Sasori said, looking through the bags. "Let's see… tonight Itachi brought a nice variety of burgers and fries. Hooray. We can all get fat and die of heartburn now," he dryly said.

"Fuck you!" Hidan yelled. "I like my burgers and fries!"

"Is there anything else?" Konan questioned.

Itachi rolled his eyes from the doorway which he had yet to get through because of Deidara who refused to take a step into the room. "I got you a salad with tuna and tomatoes Sasori," he said from around Deidara's hair. "And Konan, I bought sushi from a separate store. That's why I took so long."

The group glanced towards the doorway, uttering their thanks before looking away. Only to do a double-take and whip their heads back around to stare at the foreign teen in their midst.

"Itachi?" Kisame warily asked. "Did you dye your hair?"

"And get contacts?" Kakuzu added in question.

Itachi sighed in annoyance, stepping out from behind Deidara to push his way into the room. "_No_."

Hidan rudely pointed a finger. "Then who the FUCK is that?"

Deidara glared at the finger and contemplated ripping it off. "I'm Iwa Deidara _baka_," he sneered. "Don't forget it so easily yeah."

Hidan gaped.

"Seeing how you all forgot about me standing right here," Pein said from the center of the room, "I would now like to introduce you to our newest addition to the squad, since your attention has been gathered towards me for once."

"New addition?" Kakuzu raised both brows.

Kisame looked the scowling blonde teen up and down, toothily grinning. "Spunky."

"I didn't know about this," Konan said, accusingly staring at her leader. She was practically co-leader in the force.

"I was unsure up until recently," Pein replied in an apologetic tone. He looked at the others. "The point is, Deidara is now one of us, and I expect you all to treat him so. Sasori-"

The redhead looked at him.

"-I expect you to watch after your new partner. Show him the ropes, kapeesh?"

Sasori hummed in the back of his throat, gazing at Deidara with something akin to boredom. "Understood."

Deidara felt a nerve pull at the dismissive way Sasori had looked at him. _What a jerk. But still not as much of a jerk as Itachi! _he fiercely thought to reinstate his feeling of dislike towards the raven.

As if reading his mind, the Uchiha glanced at him and then looked away with a large smirk.

Deidara's fingers clenched and unclenched, almost frothing at the mouth. _Bastard! _

Pein waved for Deidara to step inside and shut the door behind him. "I'll now give you a formal introduction of everyone here," he told the blonde.

Deidara carefully shut the metal door as if expecting it to lock and trap him inside forever, feeling the stares of everyone his back. If he wasn't freaked out before, he most certainly was now. But he put on his poker face, giving Pein a short nod of his head.

Pein proceeded to go around the room in a clockwise order, starting with himself. "I am Nagato Pein. I'm the leader of the force, in charge of negotiations with the upper authorities and our communications. I make sure this squad remains up and running. Over there is Konan. She is co-captain and works undercover in the black market as one of the night city's dealers, giving us information on up and coming mischief makers."

Konan smiled at Deidara. "Nice to meet you."

"Next is Hidan. He specializes in offensive raids and interrogation," Pein said, looking at the silver-haired man. "Quite the dangerous person to run into during the night."

Hidan saluted at the blonde with two fingers. "Welcome aboard fuckin' punk."

"Beside him is Kakuzu. He's our medic and forensics worker."

Kakuzu grunted in greeting.

Pein turned to the side to wave at the next two. "Kisame and Zetsu. Kisame specializes in naval attacks at the docks and port for ships carrying in and works with Hidan on raids on occasion. Zetsu is our…scout, you could say. His skill lies in infiltration and incognito. Be careful, he has a tendency to appear out of thin air."

Kisame grinned. "Howdy."

"It's good to have you here," Zetsu said with a slight nod. **"Hooray! Another fucker to mess with!"**

Deidara blinked, looking at Pein for an answer.

Pein sighed. "He's also schizophrenic. But you'll get used to it." He held a hand towards Sasori and Itachi. "Finally we have Akasuna Sasori and Uchiha Itachi. Sasori is a blacksmith of sorts- he creates and fixes the weapons we use if they get damaged in a fight. He's a close-range fighter who uses a variety of weapons. And then we have Itachi."

Deidara's nose scrunched up at the name.

Itachi saw and rolled his eyes.

Pein sweatdropped. "A skilled fighter in his own right, but specializes in psychological attacks on the brain. He's very good at psyching out the opponent," he said with a smile.

"Try not to fall behind," Sasori said, picking at his salad.

"I look forward to seeing what else you can do," Itachi kindly said, though his eyes said differently.

Deidara resisted the urge to stick his tongue out, instead scanning the room filled with waiting glances towards him. He then realized he was supposed to introduce himself too. "Right… My name is Iwa Deidara. I make bombs and have pretty wicked aim with firearms. I'm not much for sitting around yeah, but if I have to, I'll do it. But…it's nice to meet you." He lowered his head.

Pein and the others bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you," they chimed.

"And now," Pein straightened up, walking over to give Deidara a seat at their circular table now stacked with food. "We'll eat and then get to your induction," he told the blonde.

Deidara didn't miss the way several force members stiffened and cast him sympathetic looks, Hidan sadistically grinning before absently biting into his burger. _It must be one wild induction… Kami-sama help me. _He couldn't help but smirk.

It sounded like a helluva lot of fun.

~X~

Pein and Deidara walked side-by-side through a darkened corridor on the second sub ground floor. Behind them they could hear the chatter from the other force members, all in a better mood now that they had eaten food and were going to do an induction mission.

"Although I'm glad you've agreed to join us," Pein suddenly struck up conversation, "I'm curious as to what your reasoning is."

Deidara shrugged, hands in his midriff pockets. "It gives me some excitement to my life. And a- a purpose. Let's just leave it at that yeah?"

"Respected," Pein nodded.

As implied, after eating Sasori had taken Deidara to a bedroom next to his and told him that it would be his room. It had a twin bed, window with no way of being opened underground, a desk with supplies, swivel chair, and walk in closet. The room itself was fairly large, with a wooden floor and white walls. But Deidara promised to change that soon enough.

Heeding Itachi's earlier advice to change clothes for his induction, he had rifled through the closet to find a pair of baggy green kapris, beige belt and white muscle shirt. He had no idea where he was going so he had thrown a light blue, hooded and short-sleeved jacket overtop. His boots had been exchanged for casual running sneakers, although he kept his fingerless gloves on. And for the time being, he had pulled half of his hair into a ponytail. If he let it out, he was bound to get more knots. Deidara didn't doubt that was the same reason why Itachi had his own hair tied back.

"Pein," Deidara said after they had walked along in a companionable silence. "I brought a few things along with me. Is that okay un?"

Pein smiled at him. "It's perfectly fine. You'll find that a majority of us bring our own items along to use. On top of that, everyone who goes into the induction receives a gun."

"A gun? What for yeah?" Deidara actually looked startled. If he was going to be having holes shot into his body…

"Don't be alarmed," Pein chuckled, directing him into the room packed with computers and surveillance cameras. "You'll be perfectly fine."

Deidara looked at the fancy machinery and flashing lights with a raised brow. "Where do you even get this stuff?"

Pein walked over to a screen, sitting down in a swivel chair and typing the password into the computer. "I told you I'm rich," he stated. "The authorities pay a more than generous amount for the work we do during the night."

"How could I forget?" Deidara skeptically asked as Konan came over and grabbed him by the elbow.

"Follow me," she said as the other force members came strode past the room.

Deidara followed obediently. "Where are we going un?"

Konan led him to a room across the hall where everyone else had gathered. It was filled with metal chairs with steel headsets. The others were already sitting in their designated chairs, a few gazes traveling to Deidara and Konan in mild interest before they engaged in their own conversations.

Konan steered the blonde to an empty chair closest to the door. "This will be your chair to use forever more and then some," she pushed him into it with a smile. "Using these, we can put ourselves into a virtual world of whoever's choice. It depends on who's working the controls, and right now it's Pein. Put on the headset like everyone else," she instructed, sitting in the seat next to him.

Deidara did as he was told, eyeing the headset as if it were a hidden explosive before sliding over his face and shielding his eyes from sight. "Um…Am I supposed to _not _be able to see?" he questioned.

Konan's laughter rang out beside him. "Yeah. That means you put it on correctly. You did better than Hidan on his first try."

"Fuck you bitch!" Hidan shouted from somewhere farther into the room.

"Are you all in position?" Pein's voice echoed from above them.

A chorus of , "Hai", went around the area.

Deidara merely sat there, trying to figure out how exactly Pein was talking to them. _He probably has an intercom or something hmm. I wouldn't be all that surprised. _

"And yes, I am using an intercom," Pein felt the need to inform them all.

Deidara raised a brow. _What a lucky guess._

"Deidara, while you're set up in this system I can hear your thoughts," Pein said with a sigh.

The teen felt his cheeks heat up at the snickers coming from the others. _Whoops_.

"Alright." Pein pressed the red button, speaking over the intercom to the blonde as he did so. "I'm about to send you guys through. The goal is to not get devirtualized by the other force members, which they can do with their guns."

_Oh. I see… that's why he's giving us a gun, _Deidara mildly thought.

"Try to last as long as possible. I want to judge your skills for myself," Pein said in an amused tone of voice. "Good luck, Iwa Deidara. See you when you get back."

The last thing Deidara saw was being warped into a sea of colors at lightning speed.


	5. Secret Weapon

**A/N: I'm just gonna let you guys read and not bore you with my words :P**

**Two short chapters here at your service *bows***

**Warning: ...you should know what it is by now... ^-^u**

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><p>Deidara blinked into awareness, feeling a frigid wind at his back and noticing that it was nighttime in this world. He looked around, patting himself down to make sure all his packed supplies had made it. "Everything's here," he murmured. "But where are those other guys yeah…?"<p>

He noticed that he was in a large parking lot, void of any vehicles. At one far end stood a garage. Towards the edge was a rail which led to part of a nearby ocean below. Deidara overlooked the area before beginning to walk forward. He idly wandered into the center of the parking lot, wondering where everyone else was. _Are they gonna attack me all at once? Or maybe fight one at a time to wear me down…? _He glanced down at the gun in his waistband, smirking slightly. It was a _nice _gun. Nothing like his AK 47 back home, but still nice. He wondered briefly if Pein should really be trusting him with a firearm of any sort. He had _just _joined. Who's to say he wouldn't turn on them? _Not likely… _he thought with a sigh. And they were in a virtual world. It wasn't like he could kill anyone anyway.

"What the hell do you think you're doing just standing the fuck around?"

Deidara's ears perked up at the voice, eye flickering in front of him to look at Hidan. There was no one else around at the moment. "What- are you the only one who decided to fight me hmm?" the blonde taunted.

Hidan pulled a katana off his back, licking the edge of the blade with his tongue. "Nah- they sent me to destroy you so no more of our fuckin' time gets wasted."

"Or maybe they sent you to get rid of you and your big mouth first," Deidara muttered.

"Bitch!"

"Didn't see _that _one coming," Deidara sarcastically drawled.

"Well it's one-on-fucking-one for right now asswipe," Hidan laughed, swinging his katana around. "Can you take me?"

"I think the question un, is can you take me?" Deidara tilted his chin up.

"Cocky-ass motherfucker…" Hidan grumbled.

Deidara raised his fists with a smirk and sprinted forward.

Hidan slashed his katana at his head, following with a series or turning kicks. Deidara ducked, twisting around the man and knocking the blade out his hand with the back of a fist. He took a powered step back, clenching his other hand and swinging it up towards the silver-haired man's jaw. Hidan moved his head back, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his temple as the fist barely skimmed his nose. They both flew back from one another, panting in barely concealed excitement.

Hidan taunted the blonde with his fingers. "Not bad blondie. You're not as fuckin' weak as I thought you'd be."

"You think I hide behind my explosions un?" Deidara sneered. He lowered into an offensive stance.

Hidan looked thoughtful before wickedly grinning. "Sounds about fucking right."

"Hmph." Deidara felt the jibe strike a nerve and he furiously charged at the snickering man.

Hidan cracked his knuckles, dodging a swipe to the jaw. He prepared to backhand the blonde, not expecting the sudden turnaround Deidara made, swinging his leg back to crush into his ribcage. His eyes widened as he heard the sound of bone crunching under the pressure. _The fuck? _A trail of blood slid out the corner of his mouth as he was shot a good amount of distance away.

Deidara straightened up, facing the silver-haired man with a glare. "Don't underestimate me."

He saw Itachi running up behind Hidan and lowered his head with a smirk, sprinting towards Hidan. Hidan whipped out his gun and prepared to shoot. The blonde dropped to the concrete with a painful dive. He slid between Hidan's legs, grabbing his ankles with his hands before flipping him upside down and rolling to his feet, twisting to point his gun at Itachi's neck. In his other hand he held another gun he had hidden in his waistband, pointing it dead straight at Hidan who had been about to tackle him from his position on the ground.

Deidara smirked, feeling his adrenaline pumping all throughout his body. "Gotcha un." His visible eye narrowed and he quickly turned, jumping backwards to avoid an onslaught of blades from Sasori.

The redhead stepped up beside Itachi and Hidan who had gotten back to his feet, fingers lifted to raise his weapons which were connected by thin wire. "Don't get cocky," he called to the smirking blonde.

Deidara glanced to either side of him, jumping up to kick Kisame and Kakuzu who were approaching. Kisame grinned as he and Kakuzu grabbed the blonde's feet in mid-air, only for it to fall off as Deidara swung himself down and hit him in the stomach with the hilt of his guns, swinging his now open leg at Kakuzu's neck and causing him to release his other foot. The blonde rolled several times to avoid Kakuzu's strikes and gunfire, bouncing to his toes and doing a quick scan of the area before having to dodge a swipe of an obnoxiously long sword Hidan held.

"Where ya going fucker?" Hidan shouted with a crazed gleam in his eye and excited grin as Deidara started running towards the back of the parking lot. He gave chase, cackling all the way.

Deidara grunted in annoyance, hearing Hidan behind him and slowed his pace until the silver-haired man was close enough behind him. Deidara came to an abrupt halt, feeling Hidan crash and roll over his back, landing in front of him as the momentum carried him over the blonde's shoulders. Deidara cocked his head to the side, stepping on the flat side of the sword before Hidan could make a jab at him. He pointed a gun at the man's head. "Hasta la vista," he smirked, pulling the trigger.

"FUCK!" Hidan angrily yelled as he started to devirtualize.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes as his partner disappeared, running alongside Sasori. Deidara was heading for the gasoline tanks that stood on either side of the garage, obviously with the intention of blowing them all up. Which would be very possible, given the large amount of highly flammable oil inside and Pein's sadistic urge to make their bullets fire like cannons.

"Sasori," Kakuzu calmly said.

"I'm already on it," Sasori replied, lashing out with a wire.

Deidara was almost to the garage when he felt something wrap around his ankle. "What the-" He saw the wire which prevented him from moving as the four remaining members moved in to decapitate him. The blonde bit his lower lip in thought before reaching into one of his back pockets and yanking out a small bottle filled with gunpowder. He eyed Itachi and Kakuzu who were closest to him before grinning, throwing the bottle up into the air above him. "Yatzee," he raised a gun and shot it at the bottle, causing it to explode and send Itachi and Kakuzu skidding several feet back. Deidara then pointed his other gun at the wire on his ankle, shooting it and causing it to snap off of him. He pulled another bottle from his pocket, pulling the cork off of it with his teeth before smashing it to the ground. Immediately a large burst of smoke billowed out around him, hiding him from view.

"Well this is great," Sasori commented as the smoke formed a barrier.

"Don't worry," Itachi said with a smirk. "I can sense him. He's not getting away."

Kakuzu and Kisame exchanged a glance before victoriously smirking.

Deidara looked over his shoulder as he ran, a bit curious as to why no one had followed him. It wasn't as if the smoke was deadly. _Hmph. Oh well. I'll just get to those tanks and- _

"Where are you going?"

Deidara whipped his head back around, only to get punched square in the face. He stumbled, holding his nose with a hand and staring wide-eyed at the pale teen who had seriously popped out of nowhere. _Shit! When the hell did _he _get there? _

He raised a gun, only to have it kicked out of his grasp and have the same foot catch him by the neck, slamming him onto the concrete below. Dizzy, the blonde rolled onto his back and flipped to his feet, raising his arms to block an array of punches and kicks from Zetsu who was fighting at a speed Deidara wasn't used to. _Those guys… _he thought, narrowing his eye and coughing up blood as Zetsu nailed him in the gut. _They all set me up. Fighting so pathetically so I would get used to their slow speed. And then sending someone like Zetsu after me! _

Deidara staggered to the side and attempted to bolt for the garage. He still had one gun in his other hand. _Alright. If I could just- _He grinded his teeth as Zetsu did a flying kick, sending him sprawling into the ground. He roughly jumped to his feet, the smoke cloud around them starting to dissapate. Zetsu was pinning him to the concrete less than a second later, flicking the gun out of his hand and twisting his arms behind his back.

"Ah- damn!" Deidara struggled for a bit, eyeing the gun which was lying a few feet away. He turned his head to the side, noticing the four other members walking up to them.

"Finally!" Kisame exclaimed. "Hidan would still be here if he hadn't run off on his own."

"Well Hidan's an idiot," Kakuzu said.

"Fuckin' asshole!" Hidan's voice echoed over the virtual world.

Kakuzu smirked, looking back to Zetsu who was calmly sitting on top of their blonde target who had stopped moving for the time being. "Are you going to finish him off or what? I want to take a shower," he said.

"I'm about to. Hold your horses," Zetsu said. "Anyone got a spare gun?"

Itachi held out his, having picked it up once Deidara vanished into the smoke. "I wouldn't feel too bad," he said to Deidara. "Zetsu's managed to trick every one of us each time we went through this test."

"Thank you," Zetsu politely said. **"Hurry up and blow his brains out!" **"Shut up."

Deidara patiently waited until Zetsu had the barrel of the gun resting at his temple, listening to the sound of it being cocked.

"Could you be any slower?" Sasori rolled his eyes.

Zetsu rolled his eyes back. "Fine. Deidara, your time is-"

Deidara smirked, gnashing his head to the side and biting the teen's fingers which were close enough in range. In surprise, Zetsu fumbled with his hold on the gun, giving Deidara enough time to jerk them both to the side.

Sasori pulled out his gun, firing at the blonde who merely flipped himself over Zetsu and let the pale teen take the shots. He smirked as Zetsu started to vanish.

"You shot Zetsu," Kisame said in disbelief.

Deidara started to shift backward, only to ram into the firm chest of someone. Deidara felt a feeling of dread come over him, looking behind him slowly.

Itachi smirked, holding a gun to his forehead. "Nice try, Deidara."

Deidara's eye widened before the shot rang out, enveloping him in the very same darkness which brought him in.

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><p><strong>AN: So sue me if I can't write fight scenes **


	6. Start of Trouble

Itachi wandered into their underground kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and gratefully accepting the cup of coffee Sasori handed to him as he walked by. "Sasori?" Itachi asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at work by now?"

Sasori shrugged, still in his t-shirt and boxers as he took a seat at the kitchen table. "Probably. I don't care," he said. "I'll just take off today."

Itachi sat across from the redhead. "That's right. You had that raid with Hidan last night after the induction didn't you? How'd it go?"

Sasori rubbed his brow with his fingers. "Don't even ask…" he groaned.

"It was a huge fuckin' success!" Hidan boisterously cheered, dancing his way through the doorway with a grin and donned in his work clothes. He happily hummed, digging through their fridge for something to eat before he had to go upstairs and help Pein with opening the shop.

Itachi glanced at him and then looked at Sasori with a raised brow.

"You didn't have to sit there and listen to his cheers as he sacrificed every single person in the entire goddamn bar," Sasori stressed, staring into his half-full cup of coffee. "And I had to get rid of the bodies by myself as he went off to celebrate like a _moron _in the middle of the streets."

Itachi sympathetically eyed him.

"Enough about me," Sasori said, lifting his eyes to stare at the Uchiha. "Don't you have school in about half an hour?"

Itachi gave a small shrug. "You know I can get there in three minutes if I wanted to," he said.

Sasori's lips curled up into a smirk. "I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about that Deidara brat," he laughed.

Itachi's eyes went wide before he stood. "Good point. He's been out dead since last night."

"I'm not fuckin' surprised," Hidan sniggered, beginning to make pancakes on the stove. "You blasted his head off at the induction. Any fucker that doesn't have my recuperation abilities would be knocked out for a _long _time."

"I should wake him," Itachi murmured, running a hand through the front of his messy bangs. He released a sigh. _I might as well get ready myself. I'll just have to drive extra slow this morning. _

"What are you doing, Hidan?" Pein stood in the doorway, arms crossed as he glared at the silver-haired man. He was dressed in his work attire already. "The shop opens in twenty minutes and you're making _pancakes_?"

Hidan smirked over his shoulder. "Pancakes are goddamn good Pein. I make 'em fast and can horke them down even faster. I'll be up in fifteen fuckin' minutes," he said.

Pein rolled his eyes. "You better, or else I'm putting Kakuzu in charge of you today."

Hidan shuddered, smirk gone. "Ten minutes it is then."

"Oh my God un!" a voice shrieked from down the hall. "Shit- I'm gonna be so fuckin' late!"

Sasori dryly looked up. "Another Hidan. Just what we need."

Itachi lifted a brow as Deidara flew past the doorway.

Pein smiled, reaching behind him without looking to snag the back of the frantic blonde's jacket collar. "Deidara," he said, "good morning."

Deidara paused, looking at his new leader and the three inside the kitchen staring at him. He wore red skinny jeans, an assortment of studded belts around his waist, and a black shirt with a ripped design through the chest. He'd left his hair the way he put it the night before, finding it didn't get in the way as much. "Right. Morning yeah," he hurriedly said. "Pein, do you have my-?"

Pein reached into his apron pocket, putting a set of keys into the blonde's hand. "The garage is behind the shop. You can reach the main road by a back alley between them. Drive safely and be back here before night falls," he said as the blonde nodded his thanks and took off for the main floor of Akatsuki Deals.

Sasori looked in between Pein and Itachi. "What was that about?"

"His _baby_," Itachi sighed, heading for the doorway where Pein was. "I'm just going to go get ready. I'll see you later this afternoon," he informed his leader.

Pein shook his head. "That's fine. As long as you're back before night. Zetsu has informed me about a suspicious factory that Orochimaru has been hiding out in," he said, not missing the sour looks Hidan and Sasori wore at the mention of the name. "I want to have a raid on that place tonight. And also Itachi, there is a student in your school you should keep an eye on. His name is Yakushi Kabuto. Apparently he's in business with Orochimaru."

"Yakushi Kabuto?" Itachi blinked in recognition at the name. The boy was in two of his classes. Psychology and Human Anatomy; both advanced. "Alright," he said. "I'll keep an eye out."

"My thanks," Pein said. "Make sure Deidara knows and gets back here too."

"I won't have any problem with that," Itachi said. "Zetsu suggested I put a tracker on his bike after the induction. As long as he doesn't notice, I can find him easily."

"Good. Hidan, your ten minutes started long ago."

"Fuck!"

Pein turned and waved a farewell to the three before heading upstairs to get ready for another day of business.

Itachi left after him as Konan entered the kitchen, listening to Sasori getting an earful for skipping out on work with a smirk.

~X~

Deidara wheeled his bike out the garage with a relieved look, glad his baby seemed to not have taken any damage at all. He didn't have his backpack or any of his school stuff, so he would need to make a stop at his old apartment to gather a few things before going to his first class. He pulled out his cell and checked the time. He had fifteen minutes. He could make it.

The blonde kicked the stand of his bike up, swinging a leg over to the other side before lighting the ignition. "I love you," he murmured to his Ninja with a large smile, flexing his fingers over the handlebars. In the next second he was shooting off through the back alleyway Pein had mentioned. _This isn't so bad after all. _

Dark eyes watched him leave as they sunk back into the shadows of the garage, pulling out a phone and pressing a number. Several rings went off before the other line picked up.

* * *

><p>"<em>Yes? What is it?"<em>

"Tonight Akatsuki's special force is planning on infiltrating your factory. They think you're leaving at eight and won't be back until approximately nine-thirty."

"_Very good. I trust you're the one who gave them this info?"_

"Of course. They have a new addition to the squad."

"_Oh?"_

"One who specializes in explosions. He would be a deadly asset if he came along for the raid tonight. However, I'm sure he won't be coming, so you have nothing to worry about."

"_Nice work double agent. I'll make sure not one of those Akatsuki pests gets out alive. I have other business to deal with now. Call me if anything new comes up, understand?"_

"I understand."

"_Very well. Goodbye."_

"Farewell," they responded, closing the phone with a coy smile. _And farewell Akatsuki._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well hooray for mysterious phone call #1.**

**There's some hardcore action coming up in the next four chapters. **

**...or so I say :)**

**Next update will be soon. **


	7. Complications

Pein hummed, a feeling of foreboding settling over him as he and the other members bustled about the shop for business. He glanced out the window and into the sunny skies. _Today should be a good day…_

"Hidan! Watch where you're going!" Kakuzu scolded a tad bit late as the silver-haired man ran into a shelf, knocking over a display of rare gold coins.

Hidan scratched the back of his head. "Whoops."

Kakuzu kneed him in the groin in reply. "Dumbass."

"YOU _ASSHOLE!_"

Pein sighed. _Or so I hope. _He looked over as Sasori, Konan, and Kisame came from the underground base, dressed in their work clothes and ready to head out- although Sasori looked kind of sore. "Where's Itachi?" he asked as they trio walked by.

Kisame shrugged. "Beats me. I think he already headed out."

"Oh- I missed it," Pein blinked. "Well, have fun at work._"_

"What kind of a sick joke is that?" Sasori grouched, folding his arms.

Konan pinched the redhead on the cheek with a large smile. "He really likes his job. There's a cute blonde who tutors little kids there," she told Pein.

Sasori scowled as Pein looked at him. "It's not like that," he muttered.

Pein suddenly grinned, ruffling Sasori's bangs. "Just don't crash the car I'm getting you for tonight, okay?"

Sasori pushed the older man's hand aside, stomping out the shop towards Konan's car.

Kisame laughed as he went, shaking his head before waving at his leader. "I'll see you this afternoon."

"Bye," Pein said as he left, facing Konan who had yet to go. "Are you purposely keeping Sasori waiting? Or do you just want a goodbye kiss?" he teased.

The blue-haired woman flushed a deep red before smacking him across the face and storming out the front door with an angry, "Bye!"

Pein chuckled, holding a hand to his smarting cheek. _Ow. _

Itachi was leaning against the school gate, shoulder bag slung around him and eyes closed as he attempted to get in last minute sleep. No one approached him- since he was seen as more of the aloof and not-to-be-bothered type. After a ten minute rest, he heard the school warning bell echo across the campus. Yawning, Itachi cracked open his eyes, rubbing the sleep from their corners. He wasn't used to arriving at the University so early in the morning, and silently cursed their new blonde recruit for making him get ready ahead of time.

As if on cue, Deidara dashed by, sticking his tongue out at the Uchiha and earning an eye roll in response. How was it possible for the blonde to leave well before him, but arrive late anyway? The teen was greeted at the top of the school steps by a silver-haired boy with old-fashioned glasses and his hair pulled into a short ponytail. The boy laughed at Deidara before motioning for him to hurry up.

Itachi blinked. Wasn't that kid-?

Deidara paused, looking over his shoulder at him. "You're gonna be late if you just stand there un!" he called down. "So hurry up you bastard!"

Itachi waved a hand half-heartedly. "I'm on my way," he answered.

The boy with the glasses peered down at Itachi to see who his friend was talking to, offering a smile before he and Deidara headed inside the building.

Itachi followed the two with his eyes, mind reeling in minor shock as he started up the steps. _He's friends with Yakushi Kabuto…? _

Deidara and Kabuto walked to the school parking lot after school, talking about schoolwork and missed assignments along the way. They stopped in front of the blonde's Ninja.

"Did you get my text last night about that English essay?" Deidara asked, rummaging through his school bag for his bike keys.

"Yeah," Kabuto nodded. "But wherever you were, your signal sucked."

"Sorry about that," Deidara apologetically said, triumphantly holding out his keys. "It'll probably be like that for a while until I can get the service fixed hmm."

"Oh, okay." The older boy then stared at Deidara's Ninja, a brow raised. "Did you get an enhancement for your back wheel? You know how dangerous you drive even without a speed boost."

"What are you talking about un?" Deidara raised a brow in return. "I didn't get any enhancement."

Kabuto pointed to the tiny machine plastered to the lower side of his bike by the wheel.

Deidara looked down in surprise, seeing the machine for the first time. He crouched, studying it with an analytical eye before it widened in slight shock. _Itachi…_

_Kabuto worriedly looked at him. "What is it? Is everything alright?" he asked. _

"_It's fine," Deidara said without looking, eyes shadowed. "Look- could we hang out maybe tomorrow sometime instead un? I've got other business to attend to." _

"_Oh- um, yeah. That's okay with me," Kabuto said, scratching the back of his neck. "Actually I have other plans tonight anyway as well," he sheepishly laughed. "I'll just catch up with you tomorrow in class."_

_Deidara stood, turning around with a smile. "Sounds good yeah."_

"_Then I'm off," Kabuto smiled back, waving over his shoulder as he ran towards his own bike parked a few lots over. He vanished with another wave within the next moment, leaving a faint cloud of smoke behind him. _

_Deidara watched him go and then turned his attention back to his bike. His eye narrowed. "He put a tracker on my baby?" Deidara asked aloud in disbelief. Rage clouded over his features. "Che. Fuckin' untrusting bastard." He kicked the tracker off in a fit of anger, swinging a leg over his Ninja before zooming off down the road. Screw going back to the base that night._

_A cruel smirk spread across his face. _

_He would start a fire at the city bank. _


	8. To Each His Own

**A/N: I couldn't help myself. Here's another chapter for you guys :)**

**Warning: Language, violence, gore, the beginnings of an actual plot...**

* * *

><p>Konan pouted, cheek squashed in her palm as she leant against one of the shop's back counters. "Pein is such a ladies' man," she complained, watching her leader swiftly come to the aid of a struggling woman carrying too much for her small arms. "People should know better than to take more than they can handle."<p>

"Konan, why don't you go over and help instead of making Pein do it then?" Kakuzu asked from where he was carrying a cardboard box filled with children's toys.

Konan gave him a gruff look. "I don't like standing around waiting for people to make decisions. They're too slow," she muttered, her stormy eyes going back to watching Pein.

"Hey fuckers!" Hidan loudly greeted, earning a startled look from several customers and a glare from his leader.

Kakuzu looked over with a raised brow. "What are you getting all worked up for?"

Hidan settled himself in between Konan and his partner, pointing a remote at an old television set up in the corner on the ground. "Kisame's on right now," he said, flicking through the channels until he got to the News Station.

"Weather report?" Konan questioned.

"The only thing he does on the motherfucking show," Hidan laughed as the broadcasters turned the screen over to Kisame for the evening weather report.

Kisame coughed into a hand, motioning to a map behind him with plenty of clouds. "As you can see, we have several large storms making their way into our area- that's going to give us low temperatures for the rest of the night and well into next week," he said. "But on the bright side, the sun will be up and shining all during this time- so don't get too down!"

"Booooo! Get off the fuckin' screen! Your forecasts are wrong half the goddamn time anyway!" Hidan loudly yelled, though his eyes were lit with mirth.

Pein stormed over, smacking the silver-haired man across the head as the last customer left for the day. "Will you shut up? Normal businesses would've fired you _long _ago."

Hidan looked over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out as their leader went to close the shop up. "Asshole…"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "Hidan, you call everyone that," he said.

"Because it's true," Hidan argued.

Konan sighed, pushing off the counter. "I'm going to get Sasori now. We'll be back to get ready for tonight."

Hidan nodded, turning the T.V. off. "See ya then bitch."

Kakuzu kicked him.

"Why do you always aim for my balls you fucker?" Hidan screamed as he crumpled over.

Konan politely smiled. "Thank you Kakuzu."

"No problem," Kakuzu replied.

~X~

"Pein."

The orange-haired man looked up and the back down from where he sat in a chair at the shop's front desk, feet propped up on the counter and reading the daily paper. "Is something wrong, Itachi?"

Itachi was dressed in their black force uniform, cellphone hanging limply in one hand. "I've been trying to contact Deidara," he said. "But I can't reach him."

Pein scanned the newspaper in his hands, sparing the worried raven a brief glance. "We still have time. He'll show up eventually," he nonchalantly said.

Itachi bowed slightly. "If you say so. I'll go double-check our supplies with Kisame."

Pein hummed in the back of his throat as the Uchiha left, lowering his newspaper to stare out the front door of his shop. The sky was beginning to turn orange and red with dusk. Darkness would settle in soon.

~X~

Kisame clicked his utility belt into place, looking at Itachi who was slowly doing the same. "I'm kind of excited," he said. "I mean, I know I shouldn't be since Orochimaru's a pretty dangerous guy and all- but I can't wait to smash my fist into his smarmy face. We finally have a chance to bust and ambush this guy!"

Itachi nodded. "He's too dangerous to be left on his own, much less starting a riot up in the black market. Do you have everything you need?" he asked.

"Just about," Kisame replied. "I need to get my sword though. I've always wondered how well Sameheda can cut through snake skin." He snickered and then left the equipment room, leaving his partner to shake his head after him in exasperation.

"Hey Itachi-" Sasori poked his head through the door. "Where's Deidara? It's getting late."

Itachi tilted his head to the side. "He didn't arrive yet?"

"Not that I know of," Sasori said.

"There's still fifteen minutes," Itachi said back, not letting his anxiety show. "He'll be here."

Sasori shrugged and then left, calling for Kakuzu to load all his weapons in the cars they'd be taking.

_I hope he'll be here, _the raven thought to himself. _Because we'll need all the extra hands we can get. _

~X~

A bronze key slid into a rusted lock, twisting to unlock the paint-chipped door. A hand pushed open the door with a wide swing, blue eyes peering inside.

"What can I say un? It's good to be home?" Deidara asked himself, chuckling and shaking his head as he stepped inside the pigsty that was his apartment. "_Hell _no."

He hadn't paid the bills in a week, so his electricity had been shut off, and the room was stuffy from lack of fresh air inside. It smelled faintly of burnt potato chips and melted cheese. A horrific combo. Luckily, Deidara was used to putrid and potentially dangerous fumes.

"Let's see…what will I need to bring?" The blonde thought aloud. Some of his own belongings for sure, and all his needed school supplies. _Should I get some clothes too? I really don't know what else is in that closet hmm… _He picked a knapsack off the floor and emptied the candy wrappers out of it, looking around the apartment room he'd come to call home. He tossed a small box of tools he used for creating his bombs, along with unhooked fuses and a bundle of wires. "What else…?" He looked at a dresser pushed close to the open window.

Deidara frowned, finding himself coming closer to his dresser, cluttered with homework assignments, loose pens and pencils, packets of chewing gum, and a wooden picture frame lying crooked near the edge of the dresser. Deidara stared silently at the picture, pushing aside several papers to make room for it. _When was this taken again…? It was on her birthday- wasn't it? _

A beaming child of nine held a peace sign towards the camera, light brown hair and stunningly bright blue eyes on her tanned features. She held a stuffed bunny in one arm, and the elbow of her older brother in the other, urging him to stare at the camera too.

"…"

'_Come on nii-san! I want you to take a picture with me- it's my birthday you know!'_

'_Cameras don't like me. You of all people should know that sis'._

'_Pu-lease! Just one for me?'_

Deidara narrowed his eyes, scoffing.

"Hmph. Stuff like that…isn't important anymore." He flipped the frame over, walking over to his messily made bed to finish packing his bag.

~X~

"The sun is setting," Sasori commented, looking out at the sunset before turning to stare at his leader. He and the others were gathered at the entrance of the garage, waiting for any sign of Deidara to show.

Hidan threw back his head with an exasperated groan. "I'm tired of sitting the hell around and doing nothing! Can we go now?"

Kakuzu looked down at his watch. "Pein, time's wasting. Orochimaru will be back in less than an hour."

Itachi tried his phone for the third time. "I can't reach him," he said.

"This is our only chance to get into that factory," Konan worriedly said, biting her bottom lip. "Pein, what do you want to do?"

"We can't afford to wait any longer," Pein coldly said, turning around. "We're moving out."

The force exchanged glances with one another before following after their leader. They had a job to do.

And nothing would stop them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well so much for extra help. With Deidara off in his own world...**

**Next chapter coming soon~**


	9. Wandering Trouble

**A/N: And here comes the action :)**

**Warning: violence, language, gore...**

* * *

><p>A warm gust of wind blew throughout the night city, a green hue under the discolored moon. Doors were closed, windows were shut, and the wild hoots of rambunctious groups prowling at the roads echoed all across the starry sky. Parked across the street from the city's biggest bank, was a lone black and red Ninja. Further down the street was a back alley which led to a maze of smaller paths, one path which made its way directly behind the bank.<p>

Deidara stood on this path, a worn knapsack on the ground at his feet with his eye trained on the building. No one knew he was a part of the Akatsuki force, so even if someone were to run into him, they'd think he was still the same pyromaniac blonde they teamed up with occasion. Well…he really _was _still the same.

The blonde rolled a mound of explosive clay in between his fingers, searching for a good place to put it that would cause the bank to explode in the most magnificent way. The best part about blowing banks up was watching the money fly- because it shot out _everywhere_. He hummed and snickered, bending at the waist to study a medium sized crack he could mold the clay into if he tried. _This is going to light up the sky yeah! _"And it'll teach that damn prick not to mess with my bike," he muttered. _Although starting a ruckus in the night city isn't exactly the way to earn those guys' trust. _

Deidara sighed, straightening up. He had already made the clay and fused it with the explosives. It'd be a waste to just do nothing with it. "Maybe I should blow up Itachi's car," he mused, rubbing the bottom of his chin thoughtfully. "Ah- a much better idea," he decided, picking up his knapsack and dropping the ball of clay into it. He pocketed the triggering device and slung the bag over his bag, sighing lightly. He needed to get those in Akatsuki to trust him, and if he needed to cut down on senseless explosions for the time being, then so be it.

The blonde stepped into the alleyway he used to get to the back of the bank, idly wondering if his bike was okay. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave it alone.

"I wonder where mommy is…?"

"Hm?" Deidara paused at the high-pitched tone of a child. He pressed himself against the back of the brick wall he was by, curiously peering around the side. _What?_

Standing in the middle of the narrow alley, was a small girl, brown hair in two pigtails. Her blue eyes swiveled all around the area as she wandered.

Deidara's eyes widened. _That girl…she's not a part of the night city. What's she doing out here? _He turned his head at the sound of voices, quickly ducking behind a bunch of garbage cans. He peered between the cracks, watching with his heart thudding in his chest as a trio of burly men surrounded the lost child.

"You lost little girlie?" One of them asked with a deep laugh.

"We can help you back home," another said.

"Why don't you show us where you live," the third one cooed.

The girl looked at them, confusion in her large eyes and fear written across her pale face. "I-I'm not a-allowed to talk to s-strangers," she stuttered out.

The men flexed their fingers.

"Oh, we're not strangers," one said.

The girl began breathing heavily, falling down. "H-H-Help…" she whimpered, holding her fists to her eyes. "Somebody help me!" she wailed.

"Shit! Someone shut her up!" one of the men ordered his friends.

Deidara narrowed his eyes, rolling out from behind the trash cans and sprinting towards the trio with a fierce glare. "You leave her alone you fuckin' bastards!" he snarled.

"Wha-?"

Deidara took one out with a flying, spinning on the foot he landed on to twist and kick the other two into one another. The blonde hurriedly picked the sobbing girl up, running towards where he had last left his bike. He could hear the men climbing to their feet behind him and inwardly cursed. He skidded to a halt at the end of the alleyway, looking both ways before bolting across the street to where his Ninja was parked on the other side.

"Hey! There he is!"

"Get him!"

Deidara looked over his shoulder and then around at his surroundings. He noticed the convenience store in front of him still had its light on. _Okay. I can do this. _He ran to the door, sighing in relief when it opened and placing the girl inside the store entrance. "Stay inside un," he told her with a kind smile. "Okay? Your mommy will get you soon," he assured her, even if he didn't know. Anything to keep her calm and safe.

She stopped hiccupping and looked at him through her tears, hesitantly nodding. "T-Thank you mister."

Deidara grinned, closing the door. "No problem," he whispered to himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. His hands clenched into fists and his eyes snapped back open as he whirled around and dodged a blow by one of the men who had followed him. The other two seemed to have disappeared.

"You're gonna pay punk," the man growled, lunging forward.

Deidara cocked a brow, moving one of the man's arms aside before puncturing a series of pressure points on his chest and sending him crashing to the ground. Deidara jumped over his writhing body and climbed onto his bike, kicking up the stand and getting ready to get the hell away.

What he didn't expect was to have another motorcycle try and ram into him from the side.

Deidara had jump started his bike and avoided the crash, swerving around in the practically empty street to stare at who was responsible. "Another Ninja…?" he wondered. _And a girl! _

On the silver and grey Ninja across from him, revving her bike like a car, was a pale-faced woman. She wore no helmet over her long red hair, gray eyes gleaming in the moonlight up above. She was scantily clad, large assets poking through her tube top as a booted heel prepared to move the bike forward. Most likely into him again.

"What do you want?" Deidara shouted at her.

She held out a hand, a thorn whip appariating into her fingers. "The name's Tayuya _asshat_, and you stopped my men from feasting you fuckin' cunt," she yelled in a brazen voice. "For that I'll take your worthless life and feed it to my men in place of that damn child!"

"Cannabalism?" Deidara's visible eye widened and he sharply turned his bike in the opposite direction. He needed to get away _fast_. He could hear the woman giving chase on her Ninja as he sped down the streets and the cracking of her whip as she tried to reach him with its extended length. "This is _not _good," he muttered. "Of all the times to get myself involved in something…" He glanced down, noticing his bike was nearly out of gas. "And things just got worse un. I need to find someplace away from here to fight her…"

The whip cracked dangerously close to his ear.

"You can't run forever pussy!"

Deidara's lips pulled into a tight frown. _Before she kills me._


	10. Orochimaru! Plans Failed

The gnarled moon shone down an a large abandoned factory with an eerie glow, throwing the parking lot and surrounding area in oddly shaped shadows. Three identical Bugatti Veyrons were parked in the dead center of the lot, gleaming under the moonlight as their owners spread out around the large building.

Pein raised his radio to his lips, his back pressed against the front entrance of the battered and worn factory. Konan was next to him, guard up. "Is everyone in their designated spots and ready to move in?" he asked.

"We're ready," Kakuzu said as he and Hidan snuck around to the back entrance, holding out an arm to stop the silver-haired man from going any further.

"So are we," Kisame reported from the east side gate where he and Itachi were positioned.

Pein nodded even though no one but Konan could see. "And Sasori?"

"Ready as always," the redhead's voice came through the radio as he set himself up along the west side gate.

Pein peered through a dusty and cracked window, sensing no movement coming from inside. He leaned away and then faced Konan. "Ready?"

She bobbed her head, raising her firearm.

"Then on my command…" he said through their radios. "…Now!" Pein shouted, all force members breaking into the factory at the same time.

The only sounds heard were their footsteps as they ran inside, shining their flashlights around on all levels and the ceiling. The group met up in the center, guns drawn and eyes wary as they scanned the dark area.

Hidan cocked his gun. "I smell a fuckin' rat."

"So do I," Kakuzu drawled. Itachi nodded from beside him.

Sasori's eyes flitted about. "We're not the only ones in here," he lowly murmured.

"Pein?" Konan questioningly said.

"I know." Pein looked around, also feeling that something was off. "Everyone stay alert," he ordered.

"Understood," they chorused.

They were all blinded as the factory lights switched on.

~X~

Deidara ground his teeth in annoyance as Tayuya shouted profanities at him, jamming a button on his Ninja so the bike was riding Autopilot. He reached into his knapsack, turning around in his seat with a knee raised to fire a hail of bullets onto the woman with his trusty AK 47.

Tayuya cackled like a witch, swerving this way and that to avoid the bullets.

Deidara grunted when his gun ran out of ammo, not having brought any extra since he thought he was only going to be blowing up a bank that night. He chucked the gun to the side, pulling out a pair of hand guns instead.

"You think that can stop me you naïve ass?" The red-haired woman increased her speed, moving almost alongside the blonde and his Ninja.

She kicked out with her foot, knocking one gun away and ducking her head when the other one shot at her. She then swung around her bike, leaping onto Deidara's to smack the remaining gun out of reach before engaging in brief hand-to-hand combat with the blonde struggling to stay on his Ninja. Deidara successfully fended off her punches, pushing her off the side of his bike. Tayuya smirked, casually swinging herself back onto her dangerously tilting bike. She made to crash into the blonde's bike, but the teen had already sat himself back around and turned Autopilot off, booking it down the street.

"Motherfuckin' bitch! Stop riding away!" Tayuya screamed, cracking her whip at the blonde teen speeding ahead of her. Several times the blonde threw miniature explosives back at her, but she just cut through them with her whip and rode through the explosions that burst out as a result. As if such pathetic little nuisances could beat her. Ha! What a laugh!

Deidara weaved through the streets, trying to avoid going in a straight line where the woman could easily snag him. His eyes searched the sides of the city for a safe haven or better-suited place to fight. He pinpointed a car shop with a spacious parking section a few blocks down the road. _There!_

A snapping whip let him know that his chaser was still very much after him.

Deidara drove into the car shop's empty lot, glad it was a good distance away from the main section of the city. Now their tussle wouldn't attract so much attention. But he still had no idea what to do about the psycho woman chasing him.

Tayuya shot out a string of curses from behind him.

Deidara made a sharp 180 turn, his bike skidding to a halt just as his gas ran out. _Now what? _All he had was a knapsack full of clay. His eyes widened. _Explosive _clay. His head snapped up as the red-haired woman zoomed at him full speed.

Tayuya sneered, making a beeline for him before flipping off her Ninja, leaving the bike to barrel out of control towards Deidara.

The blonde rolled backwards off his bike, lying low to the asphalt as the two bikes collided and exploded above him. _My baby…destroyed by this son of a bitch! _Seething, Deidara leapt to his feet, dodging a series of lashes by the woman's whip and swinging his knapsack off his back.

Tayuya smirked. "I've got you now," she said, manuvering her weapon in a large circle.

Deidara cringed as the whip wrapped around him, thorns cutting into his skin and tearing flesh. His knapsack dropped to the ground. "Ah!"

"You're not going anywhere you dumbfuck," the woman jeered, yanking her whip and causing his chin to make a painful connection with the concrete below.

Deidara narrowed his eyes, glancing to the bag with his clay in it as Tayuya began walking over to him, knife in hand.

~X~

Pein squinted through the bright light, vision adjusting slowly. "So to who do I owe this honor?" he loudly asked since he was unable to see where his opponent stood.

"Why who else but your old friend?" A coy voice responded, filled with amusement. "It's me, Orochimaru. Or have you forgotten me so soon?"

There were several sharp intakes of breaths from a few of his force members.

"Orochimaru…?" Pein murmured. "How did you know we'd be here?"

A deep chuckle washed over the interior of the factory. "What an excellent question. Let's just say I have my sources…or rather…one of yours…mmhahahahaha!"

Pein's eyes grew a margin wider. _What?_

"Are you saying there's a fuckin' traitor among us? Get real asshole!"

"Ah- Hidan. I almost forgot you were in the special force," Orochimaru's voice said in disdain. "Of course I don't know how, seeing how _loud _and _obnoxious _you are."

"Fuck you!"

Pein rapidly blinked, vision returning to normal. He could now see the silhouette of Orochimaru standing on a balcony level above, as well as many other dark figures. Along with the snake man there seemed to be forty other men. He glanced to either side of him, noticing that his squad members had taken up defensive positions around him. Their vision must have also reverted back to its original state.

Orochimaru sighed. "I should have known my lights would have no serious effect on you fools," he said, looking sad as he stared down at them. "That's a lot of money wasted."

"The only money that's going to be wasted, is the kind spent on your casket," Sasori spat, ignoring those that surrounded Orochimaru and pointing his gun directly at the pale-skinned man.

Orochimaru's eyes lit up at the redhead. "Long time no see Sasori! I see you still hate me as much as ever," he said in a cheerful tone. "And is that _Itachi_ next to him? The last time I saw you, you were very mean to me, weren't you?"

Itachi didn't answer, glaring instead.

"You're sick in the head Orochimaru," Sasori said, unmoving in his aim. "People like you need to be laid to rest."

"I don't like the sound of that," the man responded with a flip of his hair. "Well as much as I enjoyed my time flitting about in your special force, it's time for you all to die. Lately you've been poking your nose into my business, and I don't like that. So I'm going to get rid of you, Akatsuki, and carry on with my illegal experiments on young children."

"Not if I have anything to do with it," Pein calmly said. "Sasori, shoot him down."

"I thought you'd never ask." The redhead smirked, cocking the weapon in his hands before firing off several rounds. To his, and everyone else's surprise, two of the figures standing nearby jumped in the way, taking the shots and crumpling to the balcony floor. There was a stunned silence for a while.

Sasori lowered his gun, eyes large. "What just happened?" he asked.

"Why did they do that?" Kakuzu said loud enough for all of them to hear.

"Oh them?" Orochimaru stepped over the dead bodies, nudging them out of his way with his foot. "I've injected all their brains with a hypnotic serum so that they do my bidding subconsciously. Such as taking bullets for me. I wasn't sure if it would work, but apparently it does. Hooray!"

"Disgusting." Konan narrowed her eyes. "You're going to pay for your crimes, Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru laughed, throwing back his head. "Nonsense little _girl_! It's you guys who will fall here." He swept out an arm. "Attack my minions! Leave not one of them standing!" he ordered the still figures around him. As if woken from a deep slumber, the bodies shuddered, twitching at their joints before beginning to lumber towards the group of six down below.

"Che." Hidan and the other backed into a circle as the figures proceeded to form a ring around them. "Your fucking directions, Pein?"

Their leader surveyed their predicament, eyes cold and furious. "Destroy them."

And from up above, Orochimaru did nothing but laugh.

~X~

Tayuya stepped on Deidara's head, crushing his face into the asphalt as she leaned over him. "I hate pansies that run from a fuckin' fight. I'll make you pay tenfold for wasting my goddamn gas," she sneered. "So- you have any last words fucker?"

"Watch your step un."

Tayuya narrowed her eyes. "What the fuck did you say?"

Deidara smirked, raising his head with the detonator to his clay bomb in his mouth.

The red-haired woman immediately jumped back several feet away from him and his knapsack, giving Deidara enough time to roll to his feet and chuck the detonator straight at Tayuya.

Tayuya scoffed, holding the tiny machine in her hand. "Way to go _retard_- I've got your fuckin' trigger now."

Deidara cheekily winked, pulling out another detonator from his jacket. "You sure do un," he snickered, pressing the button and watching as a bright sphere of light erupted from the trigger Tayuya held before dying down and imploding. The blonde shielded his eyes with an arm as a blinding light burst over the entire parking lot.

Tayuya stumbled around, unable to see as black spot danced around her eyes, her ears sounding like water was constantly running through them. "Shit! What the fuck did you do?" she screamed, wildly turning her head, trying to find out where the blonde fucker went.

Deidara moved behind her, hitting several pressure points in the back of her neck and shoulder, and smirking as she crashed to the ground. He stepped back as she writhed with a numbing pain. "That's known as a flash bang hmm," he said. "Only a modified one that I can set off whenever I want to. You fell for the trap hook-line-and sinker," he laughed, imitating reeling a fishing rod in.

"Fucker! You motherfuckin' shit!"

He sauntered over to his bag, looking over his shoulder once to make sure Tayuya was really incapable of moving. She shouldn't be any trouble for the time being, seeing as he struck some important nerves that controlled her spinal movement. Deidara rummaged through his knapsack, pulling out curved and flat pieces of metal alike. He set those on the ground before pulling out his tool box and an assortment of wires and data chips. "Hmm…this might take a while since I didn't prep it beforehand un…"

The red-haired woman snarled, twisting on the ground in an attempt to get up. "Your stupid clay can't keep me down forever asshole! You're fucking dead once I get my hands on you!" she yelled.

"As threatening as that sounds," Deidara drawled, furrowing his brows while untangling the knot of wires, "I think I'll take the risk of sitting here and watching you squirm like _vermin _you are."

She gnashed her teeth in reply.

~X~

Konan fired several rounds off her gun, rolling to the side to avoid a slash from a moaning figure in front of her. She narrowed her eyes, shooting it in the head before turning to put a bullet through two more. She was so occupied with looking in front of her, that she didn't see the one sneaking up on her from the side. Itachi grabbed Konan by the shoulder, throwing her to the side to shoot the head straight off the creeping body.

Konan steadied herself, patting her waist for anymore bullets. "Thanks Itachi. You have any more-?"

Itachi allowed his empty clip to fall to the ground, apologetically looking at her. "My last one. I didn't think we'd need more than a few," he said, throwing his firearm down and pulling a blade from his belt.

Konan smirked and did the same. "We were stupid," she said, whirling around to swipe the head of an oncoming body. She kicked the body out of her line of sight to crouch and stab another through the gut. She yanked her sword out and stood, glancing around. "They're getting faster- and some of them are getting back up," she commented.

Kisame threw two bodies off of him from her other side, using his enormous sword to cut them in half. He then pulled out his gun, shooting them both in the head as their mutilated corpses tried crawling up to him. "You have to get them through the head, or else they'll just keep coming," he told her as he walked over, firing behind his shoulder without looking. A body gurgled out blood before toppling over.

Konan eyed his gun. "How much ammo do you have left in there?" she asked.

"Another few shots," Kisame said. "Why- do you want it? I'll be using Sameheda anyway."

Konan waved him off. "No, it's fine." She twisted on her heel to slice a rapidly approaching figure's throat, bringing her blade through its head as it fell. "Orochimaru is sick in his head," she said, looking at the unmoving corpse, face twisted into a gruesome expression. "All of these people…"

Kisame placed a hand on her shoulder. "The only thing we can do for them is put them out of their pain and misery, because they aren't looking too happy under the drug he's put in their brain." He pointedly looked over at the horde charging at Sasori, frothing at the mouth.

"I understand," Konan said, stepping out of his grasp and readying her sword. "If this is the only way we can save them- then so be it. Orochimaru's death will atone for this monstrosity."

Kisame nodded and then toothily grinned. "Let's go help out our comrades, shall we?"

Sasori prepared to face the massive wave racing at him, drawing a pair of duo blades. He was about to move when he noticed the bodies towards the back being thrown into the air and strewn about. He raised a slender brow as Hidan barreled through the figures that had paused to see what the commotion was, swinging and hacking away with a giant sword like a madman. He cackled in ecstasy as blood rained down on him, relishing the feeling of his sword impaling and disabling his enemies.

"Take that bitches! You wanna go? Then let's go fuckers!"

Sasori sighed and lowered his blades, opting to leave Hidan to the mass as he walked to where Kakuzu faced off against a smaller crowd.

Pein stepped to the side, going into a backbend to dodge a body leaking puss and blood, flipping up to catch it in the jaw with his foot. He pivoted and reached into his belt to bring out his swords, doing a split and stabbing the two figures on either side of him in the stomach. He swiftly pulled the blades out, somersaulting to his feet and throwing one of his swords into the head of a body about to jump on top of Itachi. Itachi pulled the sword out of the body's head, using it to slash down a body running by him on its way to tackle Sasori.

The redhead grabbed a body by the hair, tugging it in Kakuzu's way who was doing a sweep with his axe. He threw the beheaded body to the ground, using his hand to flip over Kakuzu's shoulder as the man threw the axe and cut down two figures who had just been where he had been standing. He smirked, pulling out a sickle and swinging it around in a low circle, glad when Kakuzu had the sense to move someplace else.

Kakuzu lifted his axe out the last body he had thrown it in, looking at his surroundings. All the other force members were striking the remnants of the forty diseased men that once stood. "Almost done…" He brought his gaze to where Orochimaru stood on the higher platform, watching them with a pleased light in his golden eyes. "And we're coming for you next. Orochimaru…"

~X~

"Okay- just about done," Deidara cheerfully said, inserting a data chip into the side of a metal sheet.

Tayuya struggled to move, staring at the machine the blonde was putting together. "W-What the hell is that?" she asked. It looked like a goddamn rocket launcher!

Deidara added the last piece to the large weapon, standing to his feet and brushing his jeans off with one hand. "Constructable bazooka. Always comes in handy when dealing with persistent _bitches _like you un." He raised the cannon-like gun onto one shoulder, aiming it at the frozen woman. "Now are you gonna talk, or am I going to have to blast your head apart?"

Tayuya's eyes widened and she frantically waved her hands. "No, no! I'll talk! Just hold yer fuckin' fingers there!"

"I'm waiting," Deidara said.

"Alright-" the red-haired woman hastily cleared her throat. "My boss Orochimaru is out on an errand to collect a buncha young fucking children and sent me out to look for a few of the asswipes. He told us he wanted to create some sort of wack-ass serum that makes people become his like, personal slaves, or some shit like that!"

"Yeah, sure sounds like a bunch of bullshit hmm," Deidara pointedly shifted the bazooka on his shoulder.

"I'm telling the truth!" Tayuya cried. "He wants to sell the finished product on the black market! He told us fucking so!"

Deidara lifted a brow. "Who's 'us'?" he asked.

"Just a crowd of drop-outs," Tayuya told him, fear clearly shown on her features. "We get paid good money for our services."

"Oh?" Deidara's eyes turned to slits. "And just where is he getting the supplies and money for making this kind of stuff un? Can you tell me that hmm?"

"H-He never told us!" Tayuya practically shouted. "He would never tell me or the other fuckers who was giving him all the goods. I swear to fuckin' God!"

Deidara lowered his large weapon. "Well that's not good is it now? You shouldn't swear to God," he said, picking his knapsack off the ground and pulling it over one shoulder. "Thanks for the information. It'll come in handy for me and my friends."

Tayuya narrowed her dark eyes. "What friends?"

"None of your goddamn business yeah," the blonde responded, walking past her.

The red-haired woman waited until he was a good amount of feet away before smirking and pulling out a spare blade from her boot.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot." Deidara paused, turning around to face her while raising his bazooka eye-level. "This is for destroying my precious baby you fucking bitch," he said, firing the weapon at her.

Tayuya never had a chance to run as the missel locked onto her form.

The explosion ripped pieces of the concrete up, heat wave whipping out along with a cloud of red and orange fire before the flames died down into nothing more than a crackling sizzle.

Deidara lowered the bazooka as a misty smoke swirled up from the ground, revealing two stumps that the woman's body had once been attached to. A pool of red blood spread from the stumps, chunks of flesh laying scattered around them. The blonde smirked, turning on his heel to leave the gruesome scene. "That's just disgusting," he mused aloud. "The stench is going to last for quite a while un."

Not only had he gotten rid of the crazy woman, but he had discovered information that might be valuable to the Akatsuki force. He was sure to earn some respect and trust with this. Now all that was left to do was figure out a way to get back to headquarters without attracting attention from other night city prowlers.

~X~

Hidan grinned, twisting the pike in his hand and bringing it down on the figure in front of him.

Sasori didn't flinch as he cut the body before him in half, turning to kick another in the head. Kakuzu moved to intercept the body getting back to its feet, moving back to avoid being hacked at and then moving in to plunge his hand through its chest. He harrumphed, pushing the body away. A few feet to his left, Konan had slashed the last one down, sword dripping with blood. She faced Kakuzu and nodded. Kakuzu nodded back, looking over his shoulder to Pein.

Pein's eyes were hard with anger. "Give it up Orochimaru. You have no one left to protect you. It's over!"

"On the contrary- he does." Out of the shadows beside Orochimaru stepped a boy, with silver-hair and glasses. He was smirking.

Itachi jerked. "Yakushi…Kabuto!"

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><p><strong>AN: Hooray for Kabuto. Or not... **

**^v^ Next chapters coming soon. **


	11. Unexpected Help

The boy leaned over the balcony railing, brows raising. "Oh. Uchiha Itachi. You're that guy Deidara was whining about in gym class today. Actually, he complained in every class," he mused, pushing his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose.

Itachi lowered the blade he had raised. "Where is he?"

Kabuto shrugged. "I dunno," he said with a dark smile. "But he seemed pretty pissed about that nice little tracker you placed on his bike. Didn't trust him enough to let him go off on his own?" he taunted.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "That's not it at all."

"Well whatever." Kabuto pushed off the railing, standing in front of Orochimaru. He swung the machine gun that had been slung over his back in front of him, pointing it at Pein. He smirked as the force members tensed, their orange-haired leader merely glaring. "Shall I take you all out now?"

"I'm afraid that won't be happening any time soon," a new voice spoke from the front entrance of the factory.

Pein and the others looked over in surprise at the blue and black uniforms.

"The day officers?" Konan murmured.

The officer who had spoken, smirked, cocking his gun towards Orochimaru and Kabuto as the others in his squad ran into the factory behind him. His dark eyes momentarily flicked over to Itachi. "You idiot. Aren't you always telling me to bring more ammo than I'll think I need?"

Itachi helplessly sighed. "Shut up Sasuke. Why are you guys even here?" he questioned.

"A child was attacked by three night prowlers," a long-haired brunette said, coming up next to his co-captain. "But she was rescued and brought into a convenience store that was working late hours. The store contacted us shortly after. The managers says that the girl claims she was saved by a 'pretty blonde with a shiny ring and good nail job."

"Obviously they're connected to the Akatsuki," Sasuke said, staring down Kabuto who was smiling at him. The boy's gun was still pointed at Pein, even though Sasuke and the rest of his squad had their firearms lined right at them. "We found a couple of thugs loitering around afterwards who said they had been separated from their boss- a girl named Tayuya. After a friendly beating they were more than willing to speak about who their boss served and where he had set up camp."

"And that's how we ended up here," a cheerful blonde bounced up beside the younger Uchiha.

Sasuke gave him a dark glare. "Naruto…Didn't I tell you to say outside and make sure Orochimaru couldn't make an escape?"

"Yeah, but I thought I might tell you that there's a helicopter flying above this place," the blonde said. "And it's not one of ours."

"A helicopter…?" Kisame looked up at the balcony where for the first time he noticed an opening in the ceiling above Kabuto's head.

Apparently Hidan noticed as well, because he turned and said, "Shit! He's gonna try and make a fuckin' aerial escape!"

"Get outside and shoot it down Tenten," Sasuke ordered a fierce-looking brunette, firing his gun at Orochimaru and elicting his squad members to do the same.

Kabuto and Orochimaru chuckled as the bullets zoomed right through them, their skin rippling as if it were water with a stone thrown into it.

"What? Why are our bullets going straight through them…?" Sasuke asked, clearly baffled.

Orochimaru looked down at himself in slight wonder and glee. "So my serum _did_ work!" he joyfully cried. "Hooray!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Kiba!" he barked. "Blow that snake up!"

A shaggy brunette whipped out a rocket launcher, aiming it at the pale man and his silver-haired follower before letting it loose. The rocket honed in on its target before diving into the two with a loud crash and explosion. Sasuke stopped firing momentarily and motioned for the others to do the same, peering through the smoke. When it cleared a moment later they all inhaled sharply. Orochimaru stood, uninjured with a large smile, Kabuto already climbing up a ladder dropped through the hole in the ceiling.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke muttered, already shoving more ammunition into his gun.

"I would come down and fight you myself," Orochimaru woefully said over the hailstorm of bullets. "But I'm not feeling all to well. Will you take a rain check?" he asked as he started climbing up the ladder after Kabuto.

"Are you running?" Sasori shouted. "You cowardly snake!"

Orochimaru grinned, waving at them. "It was nice seeing you all again. A shame I couldn't get rid of you here, but oh well. There's always a…tomorrow," he chuckled, his laughter getting louder with each rung he climbed

"Who's the traitor?" Pein called after him. "Tell me Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru paused, looking over his shoulder with a mysterious look in his eye. "Wouldn't you like to know?" And then he climbed all the way out, disappearing from the balcony and leaving the squad with more questions than answers, and a less than satisfactory result of their fight.

"Ah shit," Sasuke cursed, lowering his gun with a resigned sigh. _We couldn't get his helicopter or him. Just what kind of serum did he develop? _He waved his squad off, silently telling them to get back to their cars before walking over to where the Akatsuki force stood. He nodded his head politely to Pein. "Sorry about that," he apologized.

Pein inclined his head slightly. "It wasn't your fault," he said. "None of us knew about the serums that Orochimaru was making, and the effects it would have on his body. As you said, we should have been more prepared- however we were expecting this factory to be empty for a good amount of time."

"Well," Sasuke looked over his shoulder as Naruto walked his way. "The snake left everything in here- the illegal substances in the crates and several dead bodies. We can have this place burnt to the ground and make it look like a freak accident to the regular citizens," he offered.

"I'm perfectly fine with that," Pein said. "But I would like to take those dead bodies in for analysis, so please have them shipped to our headquarters."

Sasuke smirked. "They'll be there by tomorrow morning," he said. "Naruto make sure no one touches those bodies with their bare hands," he told the blonde.

Naruto gave a short bob of his head. "Got it!" he exclaimed with determined eyes, turning to direct Kiba and Neji.

Sasuke watched him go and then faced Pein once again. "Although we'll be destroying this base of Orochimaru's, I don't doubt that he has another one somewhere else. But I'll leave finding it to you. After all, us day officers don't get involved in night city affairs all too often- so I'm sorry to say we won't lend any more aid in this matter."

"I understand," Pein said. "You've done more than enough here tonight. No doubt the higher authorities will hear of this, but I'll speak in your defense because of our blunder."

"My thanks," Sasuke replied, turning to the side. "We're going to blow this place after we clear it out, so I suggest you leave." He started to go, only to pause and look at his older brother. "Take better care of yourself. Shouldn't it be you saving me?"

Itachi waved a hand at him. "Just take care of your squad. And what are you even doing running the day officer's force?" he asked. "Does father know?"

"As much as he knows about your job," Sasuke snorted, walking away.

Itachi rolled his eyes and softly scoffed.

Konan stared after Sasuke and then looked at Itachi. "He's cute. But how old is he again?"

"Too young for this line of work," Itachi responded, rubbing his brow with a hand.

"You have to hand it to him though," Kisame said from next to him. "He knows what he's doing."

Itachi gave him an irritated look. "It's still too dangerous."

Hidan threw his sword to the ground, stomping over. "Well this bust was a fuckin' screw up. What now?"

"I'm worried about this 'traitor'," Kakuzu said, following his irate partner.

"I think Orochimaru's a lying bastard," Sasori muttered. "He probably just changed plans last minute."

"And had a whole goddamn force of those zombified bodies waiting here for us?" Hidan harshly laughed. "Yeah fucking right!"

Sasori glared at him. "You wanna start something with me?"

Hidan pushed up his sleeves. "Fuck yes you little-"

"Enough!" Pein interrupted, face showing barely restrained fury. "We don't know exactly what went wrong or about this _traitor _Orochimaru claims we have. We'll run a study on the bodies left here to find out what we're up against, but until then I don't want to hear any of you start a fight over it. Yes we screwed up tonight. We're not invincible. And unless any of you have something useful to say, then I suggest you shut your mouths before I do it for you!"

Sasori scowled, Hidan crossing his arms and looking away.

Sasuke looked over at the orange-haired man's outburst with a raised brow, but merely waved an arm to show that they were getting ready to send the factory up in flames.

Pein exhaled heavily, scanning his members who looked as if the events of the night were just taking their toll on them. And now there was an added cloud of tension hanging above them. "Come on," Pein said. "Let's get back to the base," he quietly instructed, already walking towards the exit.

The members of the Akatsuki force exchanged gruff glances before straightening up and following after their leader with their heads held high. They would get to the bottom of this, whether it was by themselves or not. Because now, there were too many things at stake.

And their pride was only one of them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So sorry for the short chapter- there's been a lot to write lately ^-^u**


	12. Buses That Don't Run

**A/N: Now I'm aware most people just use regular names while texting. But for some reasons these guys don't. Please don't question why... :P**

**Warning: Language, violence, etc...**

* * *

><p>Deidara sighed, walking down the dark streets of Rain City with a burnt and completely damaged handlebar in his hands. It was the only thing that was remotely recognizable of his baby which had been combusted into a mess beyond fixable. <em>Damn woman… <em>he thought with a scowl. Now that his adrenaline had died down, he was feeling the aftereffects from his scrabble with Tayuya. His skin which had been torn by her sharp whip burned every time his clothing brushed up against it, and his chin hurt whenever he tried moving it in an upwards direction from when she had slammed him into the concrete.

He lifted a brow as three police cars drove by, noticing that they had the logo of the day officers on them. "I thought they didn't come out during the night…" he murmured aloud. "I wonder what happened yeah." The blonde shrugged, continuing on his way. If he had looked back, he would have seen how one of the cars slowed, a curious raven gazing at him through one of the rearview mirrors.

It took Deidara all of fifteen minutes of wandering around the city and dodging laughing mischief makers to realize that he had no idea where he was going. Trying to get away from Tayuya had taken him out of familiar territory, and none of the buildings he was by looked familiar. He stopped under a bus stop awning, figuring he would just get a ride as close to his University and then find his way back from there.

He sat on the bench and pulled out his cellphone which had miraculously been unharmed in his fight, sliding it open and checking for any messages. There was one from Kabuto asking about Chemistry homework. He snorted and replied that he didn't even take that class before looking at his other texts. His brows raised, seeing that they were all from Itachi and Sasori. He had the right to be _slightly _freaked out, seeing as he never gave _anyone _in the Akatsuki force his number. Deidara skipped the ones from Itachi, still pissed about his bike and opened the one from Sasori- his supposed partner. _Tch. I haven't even worked with the guy, _he sourly thought.

**Scorpion: **Where the hell are you? We're about to go out on a mission and you're not even here.

Deidara tilted his head in a confused manner. A mission? When were they going out on a mission? He checked the time the text had been sent.

**7:29 PM**

"What the heck un…" Deidara went through all the other messages from Sasori, seeing that they all said the same general thing, granted some of them were filled with less than kind words and a few death threats. It was the last one, though, that caught his undivided attention.

**Scorpion: **Back at base. Pein's pissed, even more so because you didn't show up. There's rumors of a traitor in the force going around. If I were you, I'd get my ass back before the rest of the guys think it's you. 

Deidara stared at the message wide-eyed, looking down to see the time sent.

**10:18 PM**

That was the time right about now. Deidara frowned, hitting the reply button before sending a message and sliding his phone shut. Just what had happened on their mission that he had missed? He grunted to himself in annoyance. Whatever it was, he'd find out when he got back.

When the empty bus pulled up five minutes later and the door swung open, Deidara was greeted with the sight of a smiling big-boned man, with short orange hair and squinted eyes. The blonde warily eyed the man as he climbed aboard and paid the fee, looking around and seeing that there was no one else on but him. _Okay…this is kind of weird. _Although he didn't know what he was expecting. No one usually rode the bus this late at night, especially in this city.

He took a seat in the middle of the bus by the window so he could watch his surroundings pass him by.

After all, he wouldn't want to miss his stop.

~X~

"Ow, ow, ouch! You fucker be more gentle!" Hidan cursed as Kakuzu wrapped a strip of gauze around the gash in his forehead.

Kakuzu glared, jabbing the wound purposefully with his finger. "Shut up and stop complaining," he said. "If you had fought in a more controlled manner, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. In fact, you were the only one with such a cut," he said with a roll of his eyes.

Hidan pursed his lips, glaring between narrowed eyes. "The others got bruises and bites," he said.

"_Bruises _not giant slashes in their heads," Kakuzu grumbled. "Now seriously stop talking before I decide to leave you on your own," he threatened.

"Jerk," Hidan grouched, but quieted down all the same.

They, along with the other five who had accompanied them on the failed raid, were lounging on the first underground floor of the base in the living room. Hidan sat in the corner of the sofa as Kakuzu sat in front of him in a pulled up chair. Itachi was on the other end of the sofa, eyes shut and breathing softly. Kisame and Konan were on the floor a few feet from the fireplace which they never used but was installed for décor reasons, murmuring quietly amongst themselves. Pein was leaning against the doorway, head bowed in deep thought as he waited for Zetsu to get back from a scouting mission on other possible areas Orochimaru could have set up a hideout.

"Well doesn't everyone here look happy?" Sasori sarcastically said from where he had been silently sitting in the corner of the room.

Hidan cast him a sour look. "Aw shut up."

Sasori rolled his eyes, not bothering to get angry. He did, however, hum in surprise when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. With a bored look he took it out to see who had messaged him, seeing as there was nothing else to do while they waited for Pein to speak. Both eyebrows flew high on his head when he saw who it was from.

**BlitzBomber: **Dunno what you're talking 'bout a traitor- but it sure as hell isn't me. I'm heading back on a bus to my University and then gonna walk back to the shop. My baby got destroyed L

Sasori blinked. _Take the bus…? Buses don't run at all during the night in this city. _He stared at the message some more before his eyes widened and he hastily got to his feet. His action woke Itachi and caused everyone's head to swivel in his direction.

"Sasori? What's the matter?" Konan asked.

The redhead held up his phone, already making his way to the door where Pein stood. "I'm going to borrow a few of the firearms from the storage room," he said. "Looks like someone's keen on getting rid of our new member. I'll be back soon enough."

Itachi started to stand, now fully awake. "I'll drive-"

"No." Sasori looked over his shoulder at the Uchiha. "I can handle this just fine on my own."

Pein frowned as he passed through the door, gazing at the redhead. "Keep your radio on at all times. And if you're not back in less than forty-five minutes, we're coming after you," he said.

Sasori waved his hand and kept walking, sure to bring plenty of spare ammo with him this time.


	13. Surprise Rescue

**A/N: As always, I really do appreciate your feedback and comments. **

**I'm just glad people are actually reading this :P**

**Warning: Language, violence...**

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><p>Deidara gazed out the window, fist propping his chin up. His gaze wandered to the driver who kept staring at him and then back to the blurring buildings beside him. <em>Why is he looking at me like that? Annoying as hell… <em>he gruffly thought. "Hey!" he called out to the bus driver. "Are you taking me to the University yeah?"

The driver grinned. "Sure am kiddo."

"Hmph." Deidara slouched back in his seat, jolting slightly when his phone vibrating violently in his pocket. He pulled it out with a few mutters, recognizing the name almost immediately.

**Scorpion: **Get the fuck out of there. Buses don't run during the night. 

Deidara pocketed the phone, standing up abruptly.

The driver saw and let out a roar of deep laughter, swerving the bus sharply to the side. Deidara lost his balance, crashing into the set of seats across from him and knocking the wind out of his chest. He started to get up, only to tumble backwards as the driver turned the bus to the other side. He painfully jarred his spine against the arm rest of the bus seat, face ramming into the back of the seat in front of him as the driver slammed on the brakes. He groaned and fell to the bus floor, his cuts from Tayuya's whip flaring as he tried pushing to his feet.

"Still alive?" The driver asked with a growing grin, stepping on the gas pedal and watching as the already-off-balance blonde stumbled over his sneakers and whacked his head against a pole passengers normally used when there was standing-room-only on the transportation vehicle.

Deidara cursed, using the pole to hold himself up and rub the smarting bruise on his forehead. He glared at the practically bald man driving before glancing around for a way off the bus. There was an emergency window on the other side of the bus and an escape hatch in the center. If he could just get to one and break it open…

"I know what you're thinking," the driver sneered. "I won't let you." He smashed a heavy fist on an Autopilot button, getting out of his seat to face the blonde.

Deidara lowered into a defensive stance as the man charged, blocking the first few fists before a leg swung up from the side and knocked him into the same pole he just moved away from. He turned and ducked, eyes growing large as the foot that had been coming his way snapped the pole clean in half. He steadied himself, sidestepping to dodge a barrage of punches that would have rendered him unconscious on first contact.

"Hmph. Speedy little bugger," the driver muttered, drawing back another fist.

Deidara clicked his tongue in aggravation, slipping past the driver as he swung and missed. He noticed that despite the man's insanely powerful strength, he had slower reflexes than him. _If I use that to my advantage… _He caught the hand heading for his face, throwing it aside and nailing the man in the jaw. "Hn." The blonde smirked, dropping it when the driver slowly turned his head back around to glare as if the hit hadn't even hurt. _Oh fu-_

The driver released a growl and backhanded him to the front of the bus where the wheel and door was.

Deidara pressed a hand to his throbbing temple, blindly feeling behind him for the switch to the door. His arm was moved from his face, grabbed in an iron grip as the driver moved in front of him. The blonde grunted and kneed him in the chin, using his spare hand to hit a pressure point in the neck and push the man away from him into the wheel.

As the man groaned and twitched at the damage to his esophagus, Deidara turned and scanned the various buttons on the dashboard, raising a confused eyebrow. Since when had buses gotten so technologically advanced? He snapped his head up, looking out the front window with wide eyes when he felt something amiss. The bus was heading straight for the edge of a bridge under construction- over four hundred feet above water.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Deidara started pressing all the buttons he saw, trying to find the right one. "Where's the one for the fucking door?" he angrily swore.

"Grraaaggh!"

The driver pushed past his pain to grab the blonde teen by his jacket collar and throw him all the way to the back of the bus where he roughly collided with the glass window and several seats. The man then cracked his burly neck from side-to-side and shook out his shoulders, stalking towards the blonde with vengeance in his grey eyes.

Deidara fumbled with his waistband as he clumsily got to his feet, the wounds from earlier causing irritation to flare up. He moved to get out of the way of an oncoming punch, yanking his studded belt off from around his jeans and hitting the driver across the eyes without another thought. As the man let out a roar and brought his hands to his bleeding pupils, Deidara jumped over his back and ran to the center hatch of the bus, leaping on a seat and kicking the hatch up. A gust of cold wind blew into the bus as he stared into a starry sky of freedom, jumping and swinging out the escape hatch onto the top of the bus.

Steadying himself on top the slippery roof, Deidara looked over his shoulder and saw them rapidly getting closer to the bridge. He then glanced back around, trying to judge which angle he should jump off onto the road below to avoid killing himself on the speeding bus.

Either way, it was going to hurt.

Desperately looking everywhere for another option, he was caught off guard when a hand punched through the metal bus roof and wrapped around his ankle, yanking him down and trying to tug him through the ceiling from underneath.

The blonde let out a scream of pain as the jagged metal shredded and cut into his leg as the driver angrily pulled on his ankle in an attempt to pull him down. He flailed the captured leg, aiming to kick the man in the face. After several failed tried, his heel made contact with a nose and eye. The grip on his ankle loosened and Deidara kicked him again to get complete control of his foot back.

He squeezed his eyes shut and quickly jerked his leg back up the hole with a muffled whimper. The skinned leg was pumping blood, but he slung his jacket off his shoulders and tied it around the gash to prevent himself from bleeding dry. He pushed to a kneeling position, ignoring the way his knee almost buckled.

He had lost time in the struggle and now the bridge was no less than a hundred feet away.

Deidara was at a loss of what to do- because he sure as hell wasn't going to jump off the bus- when the sound of a revving engine from behind him caught his attention. He crawled over the edge of the bus, looking down to see a sleek Bugatti Veyron pulling up alongside the bus. _Itachi?_

The front seat window rolled down, and Sasori poked his head out. "What are you doing?" he called up with an annoyed glare. "Get off from there."

Deidara glared right back. "What a great idea. Roll off the bus and get run over yeah."

"Shut up. You'll need to jump onto the roof of my car and grab onto whatever you can," Sasori ordered, eyes briefly traveling to the road ahead and the approaching bridge. "I'd hurry if I were you."

Deidara restrained from making a noise of frustration, looking at his limp leg and then back over the bus. _Shit. I don't have much of a choice. _He forced himself to stand, wobbling slightly as he shouted down, "Open the passenger window un!"

Sasori lifted a brow but did as told, bringing the car closer to the side of the bus. "Hurry up," he said.

"I know already!" Deidara took in a deep breath before throwing himself over. His body awkwardly collided with the roof of the redhead's car, making a dent as he gathered back his lost breath and slowly made his way to the passenger side of the vehicle. Imagine his surprise when the car suddenly swerved to the side and braked, causing him to almost fly off. And he would have had it not been for his death grip on the opened window pane.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he screamed, heart thudding in his chest.

"I didn't fancy going over a bridge," Sasori's voice said. "Now get in."

Deidara mumbled a string of profanities but slid into the window anyway, shifting in the dark car to adjust himself in a way that would cause his leg to fall off. He glanced over in the darkness as Sasori started backing the car up and turning it around. His gaze then went to the bus and the man stumbling about inside, unable to see. "Did you bring anything with you?" he asked, breaking the silence between them.

Sasori concentrated on looking where he was going. "Several guns, a few explosives, and a hell of a lot of ammo. Why?"

Deidara patted the leather seats in the back of the car, fingers wrapping around the first firearm he felt. He brought it in front of him, smirking when he saw that it was a machine gun. "I have to get myself one of these," he said to himself, leaning out his window and looking behind him to the bus getting farther and farther away from them.

Sasori spared him a glance. "What are you doing?"

"Stopping someone from polluting the river." Deidara rested the gun on the window ledge, closing the eye hidden beneath his fringe to get better aim on the bus. He lowered the weapon's point from the back window to the ignition pipe releasing puffs of dark smoke. "Sayonara," he murmured, releasing the safety, cocking the gun, and holding down the trigger.

The series of bullets traveled straight into the engine pipe, causing the bus to explode upon impact.

Deidara brought the gun back inside the car, admiring it and ignoring the look Sasori was giving him as they safely sped down the lamp-lit streets.


	14. Reinforcement?

Kisame and the others of the Akatsuki force looked over at Pein as the radio on his waist cackled with life, a few noises of static coming from its speaker. "Is it them?" Kisame questioned from where he was resting with his back against the sofa edge. He was exhausted and tense from waiting, and knew everyone else felt the same way.

Pein frowned. "I don't know." He pressed a button on the side of his radio. "Sasori? Is that you- can you hear me?"

"_Loud and clear," _the redhead's voice broke through.

A round collective sighs went around the room as everyone released the breath they didn't know they had been holding. Pein rubbed the worried crease in his forehead with a finger, speaking into the radio. "Where are you?"

"_Somewhere in the city."_

"That's not helpful. What happened?"

There was a heavy sigh. _"I found Deidara. Some bozo was trying to drive them both off that unfinished bridge by the ocean edge, but I've got him now. I think it was one of Orochimaru's men. Other night prowlers wouldn't bother to attack Deidara because they don't know he's working with us. I also asked him about what took place earlier. He found some valuable information that I think you'd like to hear- from that woman Sasuke mentioned. Tayuya or something…"_

Pein felt a part of his horrid day brighten. "That's very good," he said. "And what was made of Tayuya and the man on the bus?"

"_Yeah… Deidara blew them up."_

"What?"

"_Brat, don't just sulk there silently. Say something will you- Oh my God what the fuck happened to your leg?" _Sasori suddenly screamed.

"_Gee, thanks for noticing. It's only been like this for the past ten minutes," _Deidara's sarcastic voice answered, though it was quieter due to the fact that he wasn't speaking directly into the radio.

"_I'm not talking about your leg- you're getting blood all over the car seats!"_

"_Wow. What a dick un."_

"_Shut up and get the gauze from the backseat."_

"Is everything okay?" Pein asked, brows lowered in concern for his members.

"_We'll be fine. Just have Kakuzu ready for when we get there," _Sasori's hassled voice said.

"And when will that be?" Pein motioned for Kakuzu, Itachi, and Hidan to come over.

There was a thoughtful pause on the other side of the radio.

Pein felt his lips tilt down. "Sasori?"

"_Give us twenty minutes," _Sasori responded.

"_You're going the wrong way yeah," _Deidara's snide voice commented. _"Ow! My _leg _you asshole!"_

"_Whoops," _the redhead unapologetically said. _"Pein, I've got to concentrate on the road. I'll see you and the others soon."_

Pein narrowed his eyes. "Sasori-"

"_We'll be _fine_."_

Pein inwardly rolled his eyes as the radio disconnected, facing the three he had called. "I want you guys to find those two and make sure they get back he safely," he told them.

Hidan raised a brow. "You don't fuckin' trust them?"

"Not when one could be severely injured and the other can't drive," the orange-haired man answered. "Now stop wasting time and get going."

Hidan muttered something inaudible under his breath, but obediently followed Itachi and Kakuzu out the room.

Pein let out a sigh as Konan came to stand beside him.

"Are they going to be alright?" she worriedly asked.

"I hope so," Pein murmured. "I really hope so…"

~X~

Sasori reassured their leader on the radio one last time before shutting it off and hooking it back in place. He sighed and bowed his head, really hoping he wouldn't have to go to work the next day. He was still worn out from having to deal with Orochimaru, and the oncoming headache wasn't helping.

"Please keep your eyes on the road," Deidara said to the seemingly dozing redhead, tying a firm knot in the gauze he had wrapped around his leg for the time being.

Sasori replied with a vicious glare. "We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't decided to skip out on tonight's mission and get into so much trouble on your own," he growled.

"Well _sorry_," Deidara huffed, looking out his open window as the wind tossed about his hair. "Maybe if you untrusting assholes hadn't planted a frickin' tracker on my bike, I would have come back to headquarters without any problem yeah."

"The point of the tracker was so we could find you if we needed you for anything you stupid brat," Sasori said, tone considerably calmer. "You didn't exactly give us your cell number."

Deidara scowled. "You and Itachi had it un."

Sasori smirked. "Yeah well I hacked into your phone while you were knocked out after the induction," he smugly said before a frown appeared on his face. "Speaking of which, there's a name on your contact list-"

"You privacy-invading bastard," Deidara grumbled. "How dare you-"

"Yeah, yeah, get angry later," Sasori cut him off with a wave of his hand. "There's this kid on your contact's list who-"

He was interrupted by a pounding on the car roof.

Exchanging a wary glance with the blonde next to him, Sasori looked into his rearview mirror, clicking his tongue in annoyance when he saw a leg hanging off the side of the car and another vehicle trailing them. It was a silver Bugatti Veyron, and gaining on them quickly.

There was mad laughter from above as the person on the roof pounded mercilessly on its already dented surface.

"Quick! Step on the brakes- he'll fall off!" Deidara exclaimed as their new situation finally sunk in.

Sasori furrowed his brows. "I don't know how to do that!"

"_What?_" The blonde gave him a horrified look. "You did it back there with the bus!"

"I just stepped on one of the pedals!" Sasori angrily replied.

"You don't know how to _drive?" _Deidara yelled at him in disbelief.

"I know how to get to places- so stop screeching already!"

"That's not the same thing un! And in case you haven't noticed, we have some psycho on top of the roof!"

As if on cue, a sword came plunging through the ceiling between them.

Sasori and Deidara looked at the blade pulling itself out and then at each other.

"What now?" Deidara asked, eyeing the hole made where he could make out the arm of the man moving back to attack again.

Sasori thoughtfully hummed in the back of his throat, looking in the review mirror where he could see the other car getting closer. "Hey, brat. How well can you drive?"

Deidara cast him a dark look. "Better than you un."

"That's all I needed to hear," Sasori smugly smirked, unbuckling himself and snatching the machine gun out of the blonde's lap. "Take over the wheel for a bit."

Deidara immediately lunged across the redhead's torso and seized the wheel, seeing as they were about to veer off into a building. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed, roughly swerving the car in an attempt to shake the psycho off their damn roof.

Sasori scanned the ceiling and then let a crazed smile spread across his features. He pulled the trigger on the gun, startling Deidara as he put a nice amount of holes through the roof. There was a moment of suspended silence before a dull thud was heard. Blood began dripping through the gaps of the car roof. Sasori righted himself and pushed Deidara off of him, taking the wheel back into his possession and picking up the speed. He threw the gun at the blonde while he was at it.

"Damn jerk," the blonde teen muttered, looking at the mirror. "What are we going to do about those two guys following us yeah?"

Sasori shrugged. "As if I would know. Give me a second to think," he said.

"That's too long," Deidara said in a low tone, narrowing his visible eye as he saw one of the silver-haired guys pulling out a gun to shoot at them. He scoffed, clutching the machine gun in one hand while using the other to throw himself out the side of his window and climb on top the roof. He crinkled his nose at the dead body of the bushy-haired man and kicked him off with his foot before turning his attention to the car. The guy with the gun smirked and raised his firearm to start shooting.

Deidara was faster.

He sent a volley of bullets across the expanse of his opponents' car, creating a cloud of smoke to block their vision. He then reached into his pocket, slinging the machine gun around his back and bringing out a grenade he found in the backseat. With a smirk, Deidara pulled the pin with his teeth, throwing the shell at the car and ducking down as it exploded. He covered his head with his arms as pieces of what remained of the vehicle shot his way.

"Hold on up there," Sasori's voice drifted out the window. "I'm turning on the next street."

"Got it hmm."

Unfortunately, both of them seemed to forget about Sasori's horrible driving skills which seemed to find it fit to come back in a crucial point of their lives.

They never quite made the turn, the car ramming into the edge of a building before flipping over. Sasori's head smacked into the wheel and then jerked back against his seat as the ceiling crushed in. A shocked blonde flew off the roof of the car and landed with a thud on the road, skull making a sickening crack as his vision went black.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well they just up and died. **

**...Kidding :) Or am I? Who knows. **

**You'll just have to keep reading to find out I suppose :D**


	15. Too Tired To Deal

**A/N: Lol, you guys...I'm like Masashi Kishimoto. I won't kill off any important characters until its necessary :P**

**Or so I say~ Thanks for the reviews and readings!**

**Warning: Language, violence, etc...**

* * *

><p>Itachi slowly drove down the streets of Rain City, glancing out the window for any signs of their two missing force members. They had already been searching for an hour to no avail, in a completely different part of the city they never went in. And knowing Sasori's driving knowledge, they probably had no idea where they were going either. It was getting late, almost midnight, and Itachi was beginning to get irked.<p>

"Still no sign of them, even all the way out here," Itachi said, turning down another road.

"I bet they crashed," Hidan grumbled under his breath as he scanned the new street. "Pein would be so fuckin' pissed."

"I'd think he's be more worried than angry," Kakuzu said from beside him in the backseat.

Hidan shook his head and said, "Nah- he'd be furious. He just gave Sasori the car _today_."

"That's not the point Hidan."

"You're not the damn point!"

Kakuzu cast him an irritated look. "Were you always this stupid?"

Itachi resisted the urge to slam his head on the wheel and kick them both out his car.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa- stop the car bitch!" Hidan suddenly shouted, shoving his hand into Kakuzu's face.

The older man growled before punching Hidan in the eye.

"Ow! Motherfucker!"

Itachi ignored their bickering, steering his car over to where he had noticed the wreckage Hidan pointed out. His eyes narrowed as he saw the totaled Bugatti Veyron, putting his car in park and opening his door to step outside.

Kakuzu had already jumped out as soon as the car stopped, grabbing his medical kit and running around the Sasori's crushed vehicle. He saw Deidara first and stooped down in front of the blonde, checking his neck for a pulse before feeling the teen's bones and muscles carefully and gently. He sighed deeply and looked over his shoulder where he could make out Sasori's arm through the car window. "Hidan!"

"On it," Hidan seriously said, standing in front of the indented car door. He flexed his fingers before grabbing the door's frame. Several deep breaths and heaves later, he ripped the metal from its hinges and threw it over his shoulder.

Kakuzu ducked over top Deidara with a scowl. "Watch where you're throwing stuff!" he shouted. "And don't move him too much! I don't know what's wrong with him yet."

Hidan rolled his eyes, doing as instructed so that his friend wouldn't get any more injured than he already was. He brought him to where his partner impatiently stood, setting the redhead down and stepping away. Kakuzu immediately bustled over to inspect the damage.

"How's the damage?" Itachi tiredly asked, coming around.

Kakuzu spared him a glance, removing his fingers from Sasori's arm. "He's got a clean break and minor concussion. His ribs are bruised as well, but other than that, nothing life threatening," he said.

Itachi nodded and then jerked his head in Deidara's direction. "What about him?"

"Heavy concussion- his head smacked the ground quite nicely," Kakuzu replied. "His right leg is badly torn and the ankle is sprained, and there are tears in his skin that look to be from a rough run-in with thorns. A bruised chin, chest, and spine. Luckily no severe damage done. I can disinfect both their wounds and bandage them," he said, though speaking more aloud to himself than anything else. "I'll treat them better back at the lab."

Itachi grimly overlooked the redhead and blonde before leaving Kakuzu to his work and climbing into his car to wait. He didn't even blink as a dagger broke his side mirror, looking at his rearview one to see where the flying projectile had come from.

Hidan was already on guard in front of his window, pulling out his handgun.

Standing several feet away was a white-haired teen with drawn cheekbones and red markings on his skin. He held a thin sword in one hand, dressed in nothing but a dark blue bathrobe.

Hidan lifted a brow. "Where the fuck did you just come from?" he asked the kid with half a laugh.

The teen narrowed his eyes. "Watch who you're talking to," he said. "I am Kimimaru, and I came at the call of my friends. All of which I see have been killed."

"Way to sound devastated bitch," Hidan muttered. "What the hell do you want?"

"I've come to kill you."

"What a laugh!"

"I'm not joking! Do not mock me."

Hidan sniggered behind a hand. "_Do not mock me…_ Hahahaha! Damn kid!"

Kimimaru looked livid. "You'll pay for your ignorance," he spat.

"I'm waiting," Hidan taunted.

Itachi inwardly rolled his eyes. _They both talk too much…_

Kakuzu continued wrapping Sasori's broken arm around the splint he had set, not bothering to look up from where he was hidden from sight behind the car. _At least Sasori will have an excuse not to go to work tomorrow, _he thought.

"I will not let you past me," Kimimaru snapped.

"Oh? Is that fucking right?" Hidan snapped back.

Hidan and Kimimaru both ignored Itachi getting out from the vehicle, in favor of staring each other down.

"You think a puny punk like you can fuckin' take me?" Hidan sneered.

Kimimaru scoffed. "I can do more damage to an oaf like you than you could ever possibly know. Under the guidance of my powerful boss Orochimaru, I _will _strike you down and burn what's left of your body, spreading your ashes in the wind and watch them scatter with the blooming flowers of-"

Itachi pulled out his gun and blasted the teen's head off, going back inside the car as the body fell to the ground.

Hidan blinked at the unusual display of hostility from the raven. "Oh. Well that was ridiculously easy," he said. "What the fuck's _his _problem?" he asked, referring to Itachi.

Kakuzu let out a noise that sounded like a smothered chuckle before motioning for his partner to help him. "He's tired, leave him alone. Now help me get these guys in the car," he looked at their two unconscious comrades.

Hidan threw his arms up into the air and then went to do as he was told. He had just started lifting Sasori when an idea came to his mind.

With a badly concealed snigger, the silver-haired man laid Sasori carefully on the car seat, making sure his broken arm wouldn't be crushed under him. Then he reached down to pick up Deidara. _Fuck! He's heavier than he looks! _After some brief struggling- because the blonde punched in his sleep- Hidan managed to get him in the car. He couldn't help but guffaw as he purposely tucked the blonde's head beneath Sasori's chin and flung a draped arm around the redhead's torso.

Hidan smirked, patting Sasori's head before moving out the car again.

"Why'd you put them like that?" Kakuzu questioned, looking inside as he packed up his medical equipment.

Hidan stepped back with a satisfied smile, hands on his hips. "Remember when Kisame and Sasori pranked us after our first car crash?"

Kakuzu muttered something intelligible about morons shouting while driving and then asked, "Why?"

"Well he put us in this really awkward position and scared the shit out of us when we woke," Hidan boisterously laughed. "So now I'm paying back the favor. It's funny as shit and Sasori's going to kill us when he wakes the fuck up," Hidan snickered.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "That's just what I want," he dryly said.

Itachi impatiently eyed them. "Any day now," he muttered.

Hidan slid into the backseat by Sasori and Deidara's feet, smirking. "God- you get so prissy the longer you go without fucking sleep," he said.

"I can make you walk back," Itachi hissed as Kakuzu climbed into the passenger seat and shut the door.

Hidan grinned. "Take it easy. I'll shut the hell up now."

Kakuzu placed a soothing arm on the Uchiha's forearm and said, "Let's just get out of here. We can worry about things tomorrow morning when all of us are in better moods and ready to talk- okay?" He looked behind him. "And Hidan! Unless you want to use the bathroom out the same hole you use to eat, I suggest you pipe down."

The silver-haired man snorted but hunkered down all the same.

Itachi sighed and pulled out of the parking lot, wanting nothing more than to get back to headquarters and go the hell to sleep.


	16. Tested Friendship!

"While you're on leave until your arm recovers, I'm going to assign you the task of researching other possible convicts working under Orochimaru's services. I'll be busy scouting with Zetsu today so I won't be here if you find anything. Just let Kisame or Itachi know and they'll take care of the-"

Sasori rolled his eyes and let out an obnoxious groan of annoyance.

Pein paused in his speech to glare at him. "Is something bothering you?" he asked, holding a stack of papers in one hand and a bag of food in the other.

The redhead gave him a bored look from where he sat at his office desk, broken arm in a sling and legs propped on the corner of the worktable. "I don't understand why you're making me do this," he said.

It was early in the morning, and while he expected to be relaxing in his bed after his traumatizing car crash the night before, he was woken by his leader and forced to get to work. There were seven others to do his bidding, and out of all of them Pein chose the one with the concussion and whacked up arm? Sometimes he questioned Pein's sanity…

"I don't want you doing nothing while holed up in here," Pein replied. He offered Sasori the papers he held which the reluctant member took with his free hand. "Those are the five you encountered yesterday. Tayuya, Sakon, Kidomaru, Jirobo, and Kimimaru. All working under Orochimaru to gather bodies for him to test his serums on. For some reason he uses the bodies of younger humans. We have yet to figure out why," he said with a frown. "But Kakuzu is inspecting the corpses Sasuke's forces sent over as we speak."

Sasori lifted a brow. "I don't remember dealing with five of them."

"That's because Kimimaru showed up _after _you crashed the new car I gave you." Pein gave him a disgruntled look. "And because of that, I'll have one of the other members drive you around until you go to a driving class for proper lessons," he said.

"What?" Sasori sat up a little straighter. "I don't need lessons- ow!" He brought a hand to his head, the sound of his own voice giving him a headache.

Pein sighed heavily, dropping the bag of food onto the redhead's desk. "I'm keeping you in here so you won't be exposed to too much noise Sasori. That's a salad from Itachi and a sandwhich for Deidara," he told him.

Sasori placed the papers with the background information of their deceased opponents down, crossing his good arm across his chest with a scoff. "Oh yes. My _partner_. Where the hell is he anyway?" he asked.

Pein thoughtfully hummed, turning to leave the room. "I believe he's trying to get Itachi to take in his school assignments for him since I took the liberty of removing him from the University for a few weeks," he said. "But he should be in here soon enough. I want you to fill him in on the events that happened in the factory last night as well. He should know."

Sasori rubbed his brow before giving a slow nod. "_Fine_."

~X~

"Make sure this gets to Kurenai-sensei before the second bell rings yeah," Deidara insisted, shoving a folder full of completed documents at a groggy Itachi from on his crutches.

"I can't believe you woke me up just to throw a bunch of papers in my face," he muttered, pushing the blonde out of his way to go to his closet in search of school clothes. It was bright and early and Deidara was, once again, the cause of his waking up. He was extremely tired, having only gotten a few hours of sleep. And wasn't in the mood to be shouted at.

Or being watched while changing for that matter.

Itachi stopped in his action of pulling off his nightshirt to glare at an expectant blonde. "Do you _mind_?" he hissed.

Deidara rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Look un- I'll leave as soon as you promise to hand in my work," he said.

"Alright, I'll do it," Itachi exasperatedly said, waving a hand. "Just get out of my room already."

"I'd knew you'd see it my way," Deidara sneered, turning on his crutches to swing out of the room.

Itachi took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Getting angry would be of no purpose. Besides, there were a few important matters he had to deal with at the University. And Deidara's homework gave him just the excuse he needed…

~X~

He patiently waited as the other line rang, holding his cell to his ear whilst glancing around the dark room. The one of the other line picked up after the fifth ring.

"_Yes? Hello?"_

"It's me Orochimaru."

"_Oh. Sorry for the delay. What do you have for me today?"_

"After last night, suspicion has been aroused among the Akatsuki. I took the liberty of instigating the rumor of a traitor. Your plan would fall into place perfectly if it weren't for our new member who acts spontaneously on a whim. It's dangerous to keep him around. I suggest getting rid of him."

"_Excellent observation. I'll have Kabuto lure that new pest into a trap where he can be destroyed. I'll need you to cause a bigger disruption within the Akatsuki force though…something that will momentarily separate them from one another."_

"I have just the thing in mind. Leave it to me."

"_I shall. You are certainly worthy of working under me."_

"Please…you embarrass me with unnecessary praise."

"_Haha- so you say. I've got to get going. I'll leave you to your antics."_

"Goodbye." He hung up the phone, turning to look at Pein who stood waiting in his doorway. He nodded slightly.

Pein smirked before nodding back, leaving the room quietly.

~X~

Sasori looked over his shoulder as the door to his office opened and a giddy-looking blonde swung in. "Well look who decided to come," he drawled, turning his attention back to his computer. His salad container was empty on the desk next to the monitor, plastic fork laid across the top of it. He might as well make _something _in the crowded office look neat.

"Bite me." Deidara pleasantly smiled, plopping down in his chair with a contented sigh and throwing his crutches to the floor. "That's more like it… Did you know that crutches can rub the skin off from under your arms?" he said to Sasori.

The redhead cast him an uninterested glance. "That's what happens when you swing around on them like an escaped zoo animal," he said. "What took you so long anyway? Pein said you were only giving Itachi some papers- yet you took over three hours."

Deidara scowled at this, glaring at the wall in front of him. "Well we don't exactly have elevators in this place un. It's not like I can fly up stairs."

"Don't mock me," Sasori muttered, typing in his computer with boredom. He was sure he was supposed to be doing the work Pein told him to but… well. He couldn't seem to remember what it was anyway. But upon seeing his younger partner pull out his cellphone to excitedly text into the machine, he realized now was as good as any time to tell him about the raid. _How to say it…? I could always be blunt. _

Sasori watched Deidara out the corner of his eyes.

"Ha! That idiot!" Deidara laughed aloud, fingers rapidly punching letters into the tiny screen.

"What are you getting so wound up for?" Sasori questioned, already having a gut feeling as to who the teen was talking to.

Deidara grinned and waved his phone around. "Kabuto yeah. He's like, my best friend- but can never remember to take care of his homework so I always have to give it to him. You'd think being in college he'd stop being as lazy as he was in high school. Well, I'll just have to text that bastard Itachi and tell him to lend Kabuto those essays-"

Sasori sighed to himself as Deidara rambled on before coughing loudly and cutting him off.

Deidara raised a brow, but stopped talking all the same. "What?"

"Listen brat-"

"Why do you always call me that?" Deidara asked.

Sasori's face turned smug. "Because it's what you are. Now stop interrupting me," he said.

Deidara blew a raspberry.

"Well _that _sure proved me wrong," Sasori sarcastically said. "I doubt you'll be so happy once you hear what I have to tell you."

The blonde teen grew suddenly attentive.

_That got his attention, _Sasori thought. He cleared his throat and turned away from his computer screen to gaze at his partner. "As you learned as we were driving in my car last night-"

"You can't drive," Deidara muttered.

"Shut up. As you learned," Sasori continued, "we had made a raid on an abandoned factory in the hopes of busting a dangerous criminal."

"Oh yeah. Hidan was cursing up a storm about it," Deidara said. "I was walking by and he was complaining to Kakuzu so I wondered what they were talking about and asked. And then the guy flipped shit on me! As if I could have been there un. I was being chased by some psycho bitch!"

Sasori blinked. "That's nice. Now shut the hell up and let me finish!" he shouted.

Deidara gave an offended roll of his eyes. "Go on."

_I hate kids, _Sasori inwardly seethed before speaking again. "That criminal's name is Orochimaru, and we've been tracking him down for the last eight years. He's been experimenting on the bodies of young adults and children for a reason we have yet to know- but from the events of last night we can infer that he's trying to enhance his own abilities and force the others working for him under mind control."

"That's horrible!" Deidara exclaimed.

Sasori nodded. "I know. That's why we're so upset. We finally had the chance to nab him last night, but didn't expect for him to have backup. In fact, he wasn't supposed to be there at all. Someone in our force leaked him the details of us going there; that's why the others are suspicious of one another."

"So that's the reason for calling me a traitor last night hmm?"

"I never called you a traitor, brat. Get your facts straight," Sasori said. "I said people would _think _it was you if you didn't have a reasonable alibi."

Deidara frowned. "Well then who reinforced this Orochimaru guy? Were they under his drugs or something un?"

_Possibly… _"Not that we know of," Sasori murmured, averting his gaze. He brought it back up a moment later. "As for who reinforced him… well it was Kabuto. Yakushi Kabuto. Itachi confirmed it was him and the boy wasn't protesting against being called that name. And unless Kabuto has an identical twin and his parents were unoriginal to name them both the same thing, then it's the same Kabuto who's your friend," he said, practically babbling, although he had no idea why.

Deidara looked at him in a minute of thoughtful silence before absently going back to fiddling with his phone. "Oh. Is that right…?"

Sasori gave him an odd look. "Shouldn't you be concerned about hearing that your friend is working with the enemy?" he asked.

"No," the blonde snorted. "Because I don't believe you un."

"You…don't believe me?" Sasori slowly repeated. Then his eyes narrowed. "Are you really as stupid as you look or are you just acting like you are? Everyone in this base can tell you that a boy by the name of Yakushi Kabuto was defending Orochimaru last night in that factory."

Deidara narrowed his eyes and scoffed, already scrolling through his contacts list. "Is that so hmm? Well I'll just ask him myself-"

"And where do you think that'll get you?" Sasori sharply cut him off, shifting in his chair to stare the blonde down. "Do you honestly believe he'll tell you the truth? He's in cahoots with the enemy."

"Why should I listen to you?" Deidara snapped. "I've known Kabuto ever since my- ever since we were kids. I know him better than anyone else un. And he would _never _lie to me."

If Sasori noticed his slip-up, he didn't mention it. Instead he pushed to his feet, walking over to Deidara before leaning in close and jabbing a finger into the teen's forehead. "This isn't a happy-pappy world of forever lasting friendships," he growled, eyes flashing in anger. "People betray others for their own self-interest, and they most certainly won't go around telling anyone if they were trying to keep a dark secret. _Even _if that person is a friend of theirs." He stepped back as Deidara gaped and said, "Think about where your allegiance lies. If you want to run off and leave this police force, then know that we will come after you mercilessly. Leave and become another obstacle in our way like Orochimaru. Or stay here and help us put and end to him and his followers."

Deidara stared at him tight-lipped with his arms crossed stonily across his torso. "If I was able to get up and walk, I'd leave this place," he said in a livid tone.

Sasori stared back for a few seconds in silence before snorting. He turned around and headed for the door. "Well until then, your threat is empty," he said over his shoulder. "Just make yourself useful and call for take-out. It's about time we added you to the list of food duties."

Deidara sat with a thick aura surrounding his body until his partner left the office. Then he glanced down at the phone in his hands, looking at the blinking name of his friend on the screen. A sudden fit of fury seized him, and with a maddened cry, he chucked the tiny machine at the wall, panting heavily as it made contact and shattered. He covered his face with and arm, slouching down in his chair in exhaustion. "Fucking hell…"

Sasori looked up from where he had been standing outside the door, moving with a tired expression to his bedroom for much needed rest.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well that went smoothly Sasori...**


	17. A Wary Feeling

Itachi was staring out the classroom window of Physics class from his corner seat, picking up and dropping a pencil onto his desk. He had to run just about all over the entire school campus in order to get Deidara's papers to his teachers on time- and he didn't fancy having to hear the blonde yell at him because he lost a grade.

In reality, Itachi knew he harbored a grudge against Deidara because Pein excused him from school until he was feeling well enough to return. Just because he did well in the University didn't mean that he had to like going there. What he wouldn't give to just be back at the base doing nothing!

His thoughts on his warm bed were interrupted as the bell rang, his gaze snapping to the door.

Kabuto walked into the classroom, warmly greeting their teacher before going to sit down towards the front of the class, notebook and pen in hand. He didn't even look around, just sat patiently for the period to start.

It was only when their teacher, Asuma, called the class to attention that Itachi tore his gaze away from Kabuto. He looked at the lesson on the board before slumping down slightly in his seat. Scientific equations? He learned this back in the eighth grade. Just what was Asuma teaching them?

Itachi glanced at the boy on occasion during the lesson with his eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what his next moves were. Did he intend to act as if he wasn't the henchman of a psycho drug criminal? If that was the case, then it was his job to make sure Kabuto was put out of the equation.

He knew almost nothing about the younger boy. About his family, background history, motivations- he was clueless. The only one who might know useful information would be Deidara. And he and the blonde weren't exactly on good terms.

_I suppose I'll have to tie him to a chair and make him answer…_ Itachi absently thought, tapping his pencil on the corner of his desk.

"Mr. Uchiha-" Asuma broke him out of his trance.

Itachi looked at him.

Asuma let out an exaggerated sigh, bringing a palm to his head before motioning to the board. "I asked you to explain the equation written. Don't tell me you were too busy gawking at Yakushi to listen."

Itachi felt the bridge of his nose turn pink at the class's laughter and amused glance from Kabuto. "No. Sorry." He explained the equation as fast as possible before working on making himself invisible for the rest of the period- still sneaking Kabuto a few looks here and there.

~X~

Kakuzu was dissecting the brain of one of the delivered corpses when Konan walked into the lab, glancing at the grey bloody part of tissue that he held before quickly averting her gaze.

"Oh- sorry, I didn't realize you were busy," she apologized.

Kakuzu sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of a gloved hand before carefully setting the strand of brain down. "No, it's fine. I was just double-checking something, that's all," he said, stepping away from the table the body laid on. He covered the head with a cloth and then started to peel off the gloves, speaking to his comrade as he did so. "I assume you're down here to find out what I've discovered."

Konan nodded, shifting uncomfortably. "Yes. Pein and Zetsu seemed close to discovering Orochimaru's whereabouts. There are several rumors going around in the black market about the base being removed somewhere remote from the city, but I haven't confirmed if they're true yet," she said. "Pein wants to know what we're up against so Sasori can forge a new round of weapons."

"Sounds good to me," Kakuzu replied, tossing his gloves in a trash bin before giving the blue-haired woman his full attention. "I've found traces of the drug Orochimaru inserted in these bodies' brains. Because their bodies aren't accustomed to a foreign source coming in and switching brain signals rapidly, the drug turns them mad- like a rabid dog. And after a while, just like we saw what happened to those at the factory, they're completely taken over. It alters their personalities and thoughts. In fact, think of it like a Zetsu inside they can't get rid of," Kakuzu came to a sudden realization as he spoke.

Konan looked at him confused. "I don't understand. Are you saying Orochimaru is giving them an alternate personality?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Kakuzu said. "But it seems as if the body isn't aware of the personality change. I doubt the person can remember what happened after they revert back."

"But how does this change happen?" Konan questioned. Her eyes were narrowed in thought. "If it happened without the affecting bodies knowing, wouldn't the city be in an uproar if the drug randomly turned on?"

Kakuzu looked at her with a slight frown. "Remember when Sasori shot at Orochimaru and those people protected him with their bodies?"

Konan bobbed her head.

"Well, what if Orochimaru made the serum so it activated if he was in trouble?" Kakuzu suggested. "Those bodies were only standing around until Orochimaru was attacked."

"What?" Konan looked startled. "How could Orochimaru make something like that? Is it even possible?"

Kakuzu softly snorted, crossing his muscled arms and looking away. "You forget Orochimaru was a genius in his own right. He always studied and experimented on the corpses of our enemies. He was teamed with Sasori who creates poisons that influence the body. I wouldn't be surprised if he took interest in that and combined it with his chemical knowledge." He paused. "The drug wouldn't be inserted manually- it would take far too long to get so many people to willingly come under his command. So I've deduced that it can be spread through foods and drinks; possibly physical interaction. No one would know what they'd taken and never realize they were now working for Orochimaru."

"That's…" Konan bit her bottom lip, "a scary thought Kakuzu. A new edible product would have had to come out recently- one that kids and young adults would be attracted to. If that's the case, we should tell Pein. The city is in danger!"

"Agreed." Kakuzu had already started walking out the door. "I'll get Kisame to run a check on the latest food products that have come out. There can't be that many. And when we find what it is, we'll take down whoever's behind the company and put a chink in Orochimaru's smooth flowing plan."

~X~

Kabuto wandered over to Itachi's desk at the end of Physics class, looking chipper and full of health. He waved at the Uchiha and said, "Good morning. Do you know where Deidara is?"

Itachi stared at him in silence.

Kabuto's mood slowly changed to confusion. "Um…I'm sorry, did I offend you?" he asked.

Itachi stonily glared. "You of all people should know why. What are you playing at? Trying to lure Deidara away from us and attack him?" he quietly asked, so as to not draw attention.

Kabuto smiled, tilting his head to the side. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "But Deidara always lends me his homework. Ask himself yourself if you don't believe me."

"That won't be necessary," Itachi replied, standing up from his desk as the class bell rang. "Maybe you should try and do a little schoolwork on your own."

Kabuto stared after him, baffled as the raven left the classroom. "I don't understand… did I do something wrong?" He placed a hand to his clammy forehead, suddenly feeling faint.

~X~

"New products?" Kisame looked up from where he was putting together a sandwich.

"Yeah. We think Orochimaru is spreading drugs through consumer food products," Kakuzu said.

Kisame stared, and then pushed his sandwich away from him. "What do you want me to research?" he quickly asked.

Konan smiled a bit. "Snacks aimed at those of younger ages," she said. "Please find out as soon as possible. Hundreds of innocent people may be eating this drug without knowing it."

Kisame gave a short nod of his head and said, "You can count on me." He started to walked out the kitchen and then paused, looking over his shoulder. "Um…does this mean we can't order take-out anymore?"

"Sadly, yes."

Kisame hung his head.

Kakuzu patted him on the shoulder consolingly. "It cost too much anyway," he said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And the plot thickens... Again!**

**Feel free to let me know if anything confused you about Kakuzu's deduction. **


	18. Accusations and Conversations

**A/N: Updates may be a bit later than usual. I'll apologize in advance ^-^u **

**But I hope you enjoy the story anyway!**

**Warning: Language, violence, etc...**

* * *

><p>"Sasori, I hope you've done as I-" Pein cut himself off as he pushed open the door to his member's office.<p>

It was empty, and the tense atmosphere of an argument still hung in the air.

Pein walked into the room with a frown, taking in the messy state before his gaze fell on a scratch mark in the wall across from one of the desks. He walked over, a curious look on his face as he noticed the broken phone lying on the ground under Sasori's swivel chair. _This does not belong to Sasori, _he thought to himself as he bent to pick it up. The peeled tag on the bottom of the piece he held made him cock a brow.

"What in the world…?"

He quickly turned on his heel, storming out the office with a dark look on his face.

~X~

"Finally un…" Deidara let out a heavy sigh, throwing his head back against the bricks of the wall he had slid down.

The skies were a dark grey, rumbling with the oncoming sound of a storm. Thick clouds billowed, gathering above the center of the city, and luckily away from him. He was resting on a sidewalk outside some old drift shop, crutches thrown beside him, and in the way of anyone else trying to walk by. Not like he cared. He was too tired for something like that.

With another resigned sigh, the blonde reached into his jean pockets and pulled out his phone. The number he called was on speed dial.

"_Hello?"_

"Kabuto. It's me, Deidara," he said.

"_Oh Deidara! Are you okay? I tried asking your friend Itachi where you were today but he kind of gave me the cold shoulder."_

"That guy's not my friend," Deidara muttered, massaging the side of his head with two fingers.

"_Well ignoring that- what happened? You never miss school for the sake of your scholarships!"_

"I know, I know. The school already knows I'll be out for a while," Deidara said. "I got into an accident with my bike and screwed up my leg. On top of that, I apparently have a concussion yeah."

"_Wow, sounds pretty bad. Would you like me to take a look at you?"_

"No, it's okay." Deidara pursed his lips as he scanned the almost empty streets in front of him. He knew his friend was a trained medic, but if there anything he hated, it was being touched. Kakuzu was lucky he was unconscious.

"_Don't worry, I understand."_

There it was. That kind statement Deidara had been expecting from his best friend. The other boy truly cared for him- he knew he did. And in turn, he cared just as much. They had been through too much together for the bond of friendship they shared to be broken so easily with words. But…

"_Deidara? Are you still there?"_

Deidara jolted slightly, suddenly feeling nauseous and lightheaded. "Yeah…I'm still here. Listen. Kabuto…" In the background of the other line, he could hear faint murmurs and the sounds of clinking containers. "W-What are you doing right now?"

"_Me? I'm just trying to find my medicine. I have a killer headache but don't know why. Of course," _he laughed, _"it might be due to my roommates blasting their video games. Why do you ask? Do you want some company?"_

Deidara frowned. "No. I think I'll be fine un. I'm just lying on my bed now," he lied.

"_There's something else on your mind. What's wrong?"_

"It's just that I-" the blonde cut himself off, not knowing what he was going to say. He felt nervous and sick to the stomach. "I…"

"_Deidara?"_

"You would never hide anything from me, right?" Deidara blurted out.

"_Huh? What brought this on?"_

"Just answer me!" Deidara snapped. He took a deep breath at the surprised silence on the other line. "I'm sorry. Just tell me…please."

_"…"_

"Kabuto?"

"_Of course not. Why would I ever need to hide anything from you?"_

Deidara exhaled deeply. "You're right. Sorry- I must've hit my head too hard un." He let out a soft chuckle. "I don't know _what _I'm babbling about."

"_It's alright. As long as you get some rest."_

"Will do." Deidara ran a hand through the front of his bang, tugging on the strands absently. "Wanna hang out tomorrow sometime after you get out of school yeah?"

"_Sure! Um…let me think… Let's do it around three or four. I have to get back to the dorms by seven to study for a Physics test."_

Deidara felt himself choke on his spit. "S-Study? You _never _study!" he exclaimed.

Kabuto laughed loudly through the speaker. _"I know right? But Itachi told me I should start doing some work on my own."_

"And you listen to that guy but not your friend of over fifteen years?" Deidara asked in disbelief.

"_Well he wouldn't let me borrow your notes! At least tell him to let me see them if he wants me to pass this year!"_

Deidara started to snicker. "Now that I think about it, maybe you _should _do a little work by yourself hmm."

"_D-Deidara!"_

Deidara laughed. "Kidding. The next time I see him, I'll gladly let him know," he said.

"_Hmph. You're so mean to me sometimes Deidara-kun."_

"Using Japanese honorifics with me?" Deidara felt himself break out into a wide smile. "Then I know you must be pouting. Very well un. You'll get your notes for tomorrow _and _today. How does that sound, Kabuto-kun?"

"_Sounds like we should have a movie-marathon tomorrow. As long as you bring the popcorn and drinks, I'll be good to go."_

"Kami- all you think about is your damn food," Deidara grumbled with a grin. "Fine. But you better have the comedy films out."

"_Whatever you say. Well- I've got to get going now. Make sure you sleep a lot tonight for that concussion and try to stay away from hitting your head or loud commotion. Also rest that ankle and make sure you don't go stiff-"_

"Alright, alright, doctor," Deidara joked. "I get it. I'll take care of myself un. But you do the same."

"_I haven't fallen off a bike yet."_

"You know what I mean," Deidara said with a roll of his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Just pick me up at the supermarket when you get out of school. I'll be lounging around."

"_Why the store?"_

"I'm going to go shopping for my apartment. And for your stupid snacks."

"_Hooray. I'll see you there."_

Deidara moved the cellphone from his ear. "Yeah- later." He waited until his friend had hung up on the other line before snapping his phone closed and jamming it back inside his pocket. The humor thrill he had gotten from Kabuto was starting to fade, being replaced with a wave of dizziness. He really shouldn't be out in the city right now…

A sleek Bugatti Veyron breezed by, lifting his hair and tossing it violently in the air.

Deidara blinked.

The car screeched to a stop at the top of the road before beginning to move backwards, the windows rolling down as it did so.

~X~

There was an obnoxious banging on his door, but he couldn't be bothered to get it. He didn't feel like shouting to tell whoever was on the other side to go the hell away, but the agonizing headache he was getting as a result was only growing worse.

"OPEN THE FUCK UP!"

Sasori's answer was to ignore the silver-haired man's yell and roll over in bed. He was more tired than he originally thought. Any chance of peace he assumed he had left was destroyed when Hidan broke his door down.

Hidan stalked into the room, obviously livid. "Get your ass up Sasori!" he barked.

Sasori pulled his pillow over his head. "Go away Hidan. You've just made my head hurt more than it needs to," he said in a muffled voice.

Hidan yanked the pillow of his face, glaring at the redhead as he said, "Your partner's fuckin' missing."

"And…?"

"And Pein found Yakushi Kabuto's phone in your goddamn office," Hidan scowled.

Sasori sat up. "What?"

~X~

"Itachi?" Deidara leaned against the wall for support as he climbed to a standing position. He warily eyed the Uchiha staring at him as he put the car in reverse. "What the hell is he doing?" he wondered aloud.

"Just get in," Itachi said with a roll of his eyes through the window, pulling the car to a halt.

"No."

"Either you come willingly or I'll make you," Itachi said. "Unless you'd like a repeat of Tayuya and the others as you wander alone through the streets?"

Deidara's face was one of utter disgust, but now his ankle was throbbing and vision swarming with black spots. He limped over to the car, tripped into the doorframe, and collapsed onto the leather passenger seat with a muffled groan.

Itachi let out a tiny sigh, unbuckling his seat belt to get out and walk around to the other side of the car. "You're quite helpless, aren't you?"

"Shut up," Deidara muttered as the raven helped him sit up and then shut the door to get back in the driver's seat. He slowly reached behind him to pull his own seatbelt across his body, clicking it in place as Itachi started the ignition. "What are you even doing out here?" he asked.

"This is the quickest way back to headquarters from school," Itachi said, pulling out onto the street with his usual speed of not-normal-or-safe-for-the-citizens-of-the-city. "We'll be there in five minutes."

Deidara blanched and quickly averted his gaze to the blurred view outside the window. "Could we not go back there right now?"

Itachi blinked at him in surprise. "What?"

"Just…not right now un." He narrowed his eyes. "If I give you directions…will you follow them?"

"…"

"Well?"

Itachi stopped at a red light, turning to stare at the teen next to him. "Where are we going?"

Deidara hummed in the back of his throat, sparing Itachi a glance. "Kabuto's place."

~X~

"I don't understand," Sasori murmured, turning over the broken phone in his hands. "I could've sworn Deidara was texting on his _own _cell, not this one."

"Well he obviously wasn't," Pein snapped.

Sasori glanced up at him. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"I want you to find out what your partner is up to," Pein ordered. Hidan was leaning behind him on the counter, scowling and picking at his nails with a switchblade. The three were on the upper floor of Akatsuki Deals- Kakuzu and Konan holed up in the downstairs lab for a reason they had yet to explain, and Kisame had left a few hours back in a claim of searching for 'something important'.

"Is it because of what Orochimaru said?" Sasori asked with narrow eyes. "You're suspecting Deidara of being a traitor?"

Pein looked at him. "I'm not accusing him of anything," he said. "I'm just curious as to why he had _Kabuto's _phone of all things."

Sasori thoughtfully hummed. "Itachi mentioned something about them being friends," he replied.

"Is that so?" Pein murmured. "This is news to me. But I believe we can make it to our advantage." He took the shattered phone from Sasori's hands, pocketing it in his apron. "I have a plan. But I'll need you to cooperate with me," he said.

Sasori blinked in surprise before narrowing his eyes. "What kind of plan?" he asked.


	19. My Illusions and Your Past

**A/N: Here's another chapter for you. Although... it doesn't make much sense lol ^-^u**

**Warning: Language, violence, etc...**

* * *

><p>Itachi brought his car to a halt inside a secluded clearing.<p>

On first glance, he would of thought Deidara had just led him inside a forest. But looking around more closely, he noticed a small run-down building hidden amongst the branches and trees. Its walls were brown and cracked, several screen doors hanging off their hinges. He stared at the decrepit building and then looked at the blonde next to him.

Deidara seemed lost in thought as he undid his seatbelt, starting to open the car door.

Itachi grabbed his elbow before he could get out. "Why are we here?" he questioned.

Deidara looked at him over his shoulder. "I just want to confirm something… Follow me."

Itachi sighed, but released his hold on the younger teen to get out the car himself anyway. His dress shoes crunched loudly under twigs and pebbles as he trailed after Deidara, and he subconsciously looked down at himself- feeling out of place with his much too proper clothing for this part of the woods. Black slacks, a while long-sleeved shirt and red t-shirt over top.

Deidara led the way up a rickety porch to the building now noted as a broken down motel, walking idly down the rows of doors until he stopped at one on the far end of the porch. He studied the vine covered number plate on the side of the door and then glanced behind him to check if Itachi had followed, taking a bobby pin out from his hair.

"You're telling me…" Itachi slowly started to say as the blonde picked open the door lock, "that this is where Kabuto lives?"

Deidara snorted, throwing the bobby pin he had used over his shoulder and pushing the door open. "Of course not un." He stepped inside, flicking on a light switch and motioning for Itachi to follow. "This isn't really where he lives now," he said looking around at the messy motel room. "We used to share this place before I got enough money to buy my own apartment and he went to stay at the University dorms. I see nothing's changed."

Itachi felt his nose crinkle as he looked at a dresser and the ever growing pile of dust on it. "Don't people clean this place?" he asked.

"They shut it down- service and the living conditions weren't that ideal," Deidara answered with a wry smile.

"I can see why," Itachi muttered, stepping over a half-eaten shoe and coming up behind the blonde teen who was opening a desk's drawers and rummaging through the belongings inside. "I don't mean to push or sound rude…but _why _are we here?"

Deidara grunted, not bothering to look over his shoulder. "Sasori told me that you guys ran into this guy Orochimaru that you've been hunting down for a while un."

"And this is important because…?"

"I heard Kabuto was there too."

Itachi closed his mouth, staring at the blonde's back as he moved several papers out of their spot. "Yes…" he slowly said, wondering where Deidara was going with this. "That is true."

"…I thought so."

"What?"

Deidara suddenly turned around, pinning Itachi to the spot with a serious stare. "Kabuto and I share a special bond. We've been friends ever since I can remember- and he's always been there for me. That's why I can't just accept that he would go off and join a person as bad as Orochimaru. The Kabuto I know wouldn't do that un. Tomorrow I'm hanging out with him you know."

"You'd chose him over what you know is right?" Itachi questioned.

Deidara pushed past him and stomped over to the far side of the room, arms folded as he faced the opposite direction. "Kabuto was an orphan from the Osaka District in Japan. My father was a traveling business man who took pity and showered sympathy on those less fortunate than himself. Kabuto was running away from the merchants he had stolen from when he ran straight into my dad," he said, a glazed look in his eye. "He just took him. Right out of that place, back home here with the rest of my family. It should have been illegal- but no one cared about a child with no origin."

Itachi stared at him. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because that child- my _best friend_-" Deidara stressed, "could be under a drug." He looked over his shoulder to the baffled raven. "A drug that could hurt him. And I want to do everything I can to prevent my friend from being killed. Him _dying _is not an option I'll take."

"That's not your choice to make," Itachi told him. "We've seen what the effects of Orochimaru's drugs can do to a person. Until Kakuzu figures out what we're dealing with, there's no way to reverse it once its been injected into the body." He paused. "Besides, we don't know if Kabuto is under this drug or just willingly working for Orochimaru. It could be the latter."

"But it could be the former." Deidara looked back in front of him.

Itachi sighed heavily, rubbing his brow. "I don't know what you want from me Deidara. I really don't. In this world we lose things precious to us. There's nothing we can do about it. If you're worried about losing a dear friend, you've a choice to make. But I can't help you make that sort of decision," he said. "You have to do it yourself."

Deidara kept his back turned, eyes shadowed. "Itachi…how do your illusions work?"

"My illusions?" Itachi thoughtfully trailed his eyes over the disarray that was the motel room, landing on the tense form of the teen across from him. "Through words, sometimes a hand gesture that captures the other person's attention. So long as I have their focus, my tone of voice or demeanor can change their perception on what is happening around them. They won't realize anything's changed until they somehow break out of it or I call it off. Often times, it ends once someone has died inside the illusion."

"So you're saying thing will go exactly as that person sees it being played out?" Deidara questioned, turning around to look the other force member in the eye. "How is that possible un?"

Itachi offered a dry smirk. "People tend to believe what they want to."

"And the downsides to your illusions?"

"It'll capture anyone close to the person being targeted as well," Itachi explained. "Anyone who goes through it afterwards will suffer head trauma and shock to their body. It depends on who it is and how well they can resist my voice."

Deidara scrunched his nose. "Saying you have an irresistible voice hmm?"

Itachi purposefully fluttered his eyes. "As well as an irresistible face. Most people have no chance against me."

The teen rolled his eyes in response before crossing his arms and leaning to the side. "Surely you have more than just one type of illusion other than showing your victim what they want un. What's your other one?"

"You _are _smart, aren't you?" Itachi muttered, listening to the blonde harrumph. "I can bring to the forefront what a person dreads the most. Instead of showing them what they want, I show them what they most deny. This one tends to be more disturbing though- and I rarely use it unless Hidan needs help interrogating a stubborn convict..."

"Use it on me."

"What did you say?"

"I said to use it."

Itachi stared at him with furrowed brows, studying the grim expression the blonde held. His visible blue eye was clouded over in thought and determination. But determination for what was something Itachi couldn't figure out.

And then his face went blank. "I see…"

"Convince me what's right."

"You're still in doubt about your friend Kabuto. You want to know if sticking with the Akatsuki is in your best interests if it means losing something you hold close," Itachi murmured.

Deidara felt his head grow fuzzy and vision waver. _Wha…? _His eyes closed to stop the dull buzz in his head.

Itachi's voice grew louder. "But at the same time your sense of loyalty and justice of wanting a greater good are conflicting with your personal emotions. A past which restricts you and a future you cannot see. I will show you your fear."

A cold gust of air breezed through the window, the lamplight flickering out.

They were submerged in darkness.


	20. Caught

Deidara's heart thudded loudly against his chest, eyes snapping open as he gasped. He glanced around furtively, smelling rust and iron. But it was dark, and he couldn't see anything. Where was Itachi? The light had suddenly gone out.

"Oh you're awake."

Deidara's eyes widened. "K-Kabuto?"

The lights flashed on, revealing them to be in a squalid laboratory with a hazy green light flickering above. The lime-colored walls were stained brown, pieces of tile breaking off onto the floor. There was a table full of tools and cabinets full of medicine. There were ice boxes containing…body limbs? The smell of acid reeked throughout the room.

Standing across from him at the table was his friend, squirting a bit of liquid out of a syringe before turning to him. He smiled kindly and walked towards him. "Hello Deidara."

"What happened? Why am I-?" Deidara let out a sharp exhale of breath as he tried to move forward, only to be yanked back. His gaze snapped to his wrist and legs, strapped with metal and leather restraints. He couldn't get out.

Kabuto placed a hand on the blonde's neck, toying with the syringe in his other. "This should make you feel better," he said, stabbing the needle into Deidara' neck. He backed away.

Deidara felt his strength sap away, replaced with a feeling of being weighed down with lead as his neck bled. He forced his head up, trying to keep his eyes steady on the form of his friend. "Kabuto… why are you…? I don't understand what…" he felt too tired to continue on.

"You should close your eyes and rest," Kabuto advised him, his back facing the blonde as he fiddled with something on the table. "It would make things so much easier."

Deidara struggled fiercely against his restraints, trying to pull himself off the wall with a strength he didn't have. "What's going on? What did you do with Itachi?" His voice was high with panic. Suddenly he could hear and feel every little thing. His skin itched, his toes twitched, his heartbeat pounded mercilessly against his ribcage. "Answer me Kabuto!"

"Oh- you mean him?" Kabuto turned, holding a large piece of skinned flesh up in his hands. It was like a mask, drained of blood with bloody holes where the eyes should have been. Two distinct lines ran down its face, strings of muscle dangling at the bottom.

Deidara felt like gagging. "W-What the fuck is that?"

"You don't recognize him?" Kabuto questioningly stared at the flesh and then held it closer to the blonde. "It's Itachi- duh!"

Deidara threw up, murky and foul smelling bile pooling around his feet as he heaved, head spinning and praying that this was all just a terrible nightmare he would wake up from. _I-Ita- _

Kabuto pressed the slab of skin of to his face with both hands, whirling around and madly speaking aloud to himself. "Oh no mister, please don't kill me! I'm Uchiha Itachi! I'll do anything you ask! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!" he angrily shouted, shaking his head wildly back and forth as if he were having a seizure.

Kabuto sneered, throwing the face against the rusted walls before turning back to Deidara. "I grow bored of ugly faces like those. I'd much rather have yours," he said, blood smeared all across his face. He reached forward, a scalpel appearing from in between his fingers. He cut a line across Deidara's forehead who was struggling to move back. "Now don't move," he disapprovingly said.

Deidara's breath hitched in the back of his throat, his airways clogging up painfully. It hurt to breathe, but he had to get away. He had to get away from this monster. He had to-

Kabuto grabbed the top of his forehead, digging a thumb underneath the skin's flab as he flipped it up. He grinned, starting to peel down, ripping the face off yet another victim as muscle tore, blood spurted, and muscle showed.

Deidara screamed, exposed nerves twitching from the oxygen contact.

And Kabuto pressed the new mask to his face.

~X~

Deidara blinked back into awareness, eyes wide and breathing erratic as he stood. He clutched a hand to his heart before hacking out blood, crashing to the ground. "Fuck…" he whispered. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" he screamed, grabbing his head as the images came flowing back.

Itachi immediately ran over, dispelling the illusion and crouching to rub soothing circles onto the blonde's back. "Shit. I usually don't use this on comrades in the squad. I shouldn't have even listened to you. I'm so sorry- are you okay?"

Glancing at his face, Deidara had to force himself not to gag. "U-Ugh." He sagged against Itachi's shoulder. "C-Couldn't you make y-your illusions a bit more h-happy," he practically chattered. "Fucking hell- you've done more than convince me…" His eyes suddenly widened.

Itachi shamefully averted his gaze. "I _am _sorry. What should I do to make it up to you?"

"Itachi." Deidara frantically grabbed the Uchiha's sleeve, forcing the other man to look at him. "I know what has to be done. I've got it un," he shakily breathed out, a dark light in his eye. "And you're going to train me."

~X~

_Ring….Ring…Ring…._

"_Yes, yes? Hello?"_

"Hello, it's me."

"_Ah! I've been meaning to speak with you. I've heard you're familiar with someone called 'Deidara'?"_

"…That would be correct."

"_Good. I'll need you to lure him away from those in the night force. The best way to take something down is from the inside out. Orochimaru's double-agent will already be toying with the others in the Akatsuki. It'll be your job to get rid of that Deidara brat."_

"You want me to kill him?"

"_Do what you must. Orochimaru might want his body for testing."_

"I'll take care of it."

"_Fine- I have to get going now."_

~X~

Kabuto frowned as the other line hung up. _I didn't get the chance to back out… _

He sighed, rubbing his brow tiredly before turning to lie down in his bed.

His headache had only grown worse.

~X~

Sasori closed his phone before facing his leader. "All done," he said.

Pein nodded from where he sat across from the redhead. "Good. Deidara should be taken care of by tomorrow."

Zetsu stepped out of the shadows, golden eyes gleaming. "Pein."

The orange-haired man looked at him. "Yes?"

Zetsu dipped his head. "Everything is taken care of on Orochimaru's side. Although I don't know what Kisame, Konan, and Kakuzu are up to- it shouldn't bother us. After Deidara is dealt with, we can make our move in the next day. Waiting any longer than that will be fatal to our members."

Pein hummed. "Excellent…"

Hidan stood outside the closed door, eyes wide and heart thudding in his chest. _What the fuck? _

Sasori's eyes flicked to the door. "Pein, Zetsu- it looks like we have an eavesdropper."

Hidan jolted, starting to run away.

Zetsu appeared in front of him, grinning mischievously. "Hello Hidan~"

~X~

Thirty minutes later had Hidan thoroughly traumatized, Kakuzu out of his lab, and Pein back upstairs closing the shop down from the day. Apparently Konan and Kisame had some work to finish up on.

Kakuzu glanced at his silver-haired partner, brows raised. They were in the back corner as usual, but Hidan hadn't said a word nor glared at him. "What's with you?" he asked.

Hidan shook his head. "Nothing dude."

Kakuzu frowned.

Itachi walked into the doors of Akatsuki Deals, a still pale Deidara by his side.

Pein looked up a the bell rang, frowning immediately and placing down the magazine he had been reading. "What happened to you two? Itachi- you were supposed to be back over two hours ago. And Deidara- you look very sick," he said.

Hidan and Kakuzu looked over from where they were sorting crates of antique bottles.

"Oi blondie!" Hidan called out in worry. "Where the fuck did you go?"

Kakuzu looked at Hidan in surprise.

"It's nothing important un," Deidara quietly muttered, stepping out of Itachi's reach and beginning to walk towards the back of the store. He could feel several pairs of eyes watching after him.

Pein watched as the blonde slowly walked away and then turned his gaze to the ever impassive raven. "Explain."

Itachi let out a tiny sigh. "It's better if we discuss this somewhere private," he said.

Pein narrowed his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: If you felt like you were missing something, feel free to let me know. **

**I don't even know what happened myself *sighs***


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